Project Snowboarder - ON HIATUS
by AoUsagi
Summary: Allegra Sauvagess believes her snowboarding career us over, until she get's a surprise visit from some track officials, and so starts the third season on the SSX circuit...
1. Chapter 1

**Part One: **

_Stompin' With Style_

Chapter 1

Living Memory.

The alarm started going off, buzzing intently at Allegra's sleeping form.

Groaning, she reached up with one hand and pushed the snooze button. Rolling over, she turned and looked up at the ceiling blearily.

She sighed, trying to wake herself from the nightmare of the crash a year ago. Allegra rubbed her tired and sleepy eyes, reliving the memory of the accident.

_Coming down the second slope, racing towards the Big Break._

_She aimed her board more carefully at the snowboard jump, tensing her muscles for the leap._

_Suddenly, Psymon Stark cut her off, darting ahead of her and cackling manically._

'_A little competition would be nice!' he called over his shoulder._

_Her attention span tilted ever so slightly, so that she could follow with her eyes where Psymon had sped off._

_He shoved down with his feet, sending snow spraying all over Allegra._

_Crying out as it splashed into her eyes, Allegra lost control of the board, her right foot slipping from the binding._

_All of a sudden, she was flying through the air._

_She had gone straight through the Big Break, and now she was sailing out-of-control towards the rocks on the other side._

_Her vision cleared just as her board struck the rocky mountainside, flipping her head over heels across the gravel ledge._

_Allegra felt the sudden pain as her arm twisted back violently, and then did a total face plant, feeling more than one rib crack._

_She was sliding towards a fallen tree, and, a second later; her head had slammed against the tree's trunk._

_That was when the world went black._

Allegra groaned again and pulled herself into a technically upright position, trying to block out the rest of the memory. But her mind was still clouded with sleep, her sluggish thoughts not registering properly as the next scene played out.

_Waking up in hospital, her arm in a cast, her neck in a neck brace, her legs bandaged and broken, and her head still spinning. Suddenly, Mom and Dad sprint into the ward, their faces twisted in joy, relief, anger, confusion and fear. Mom, stroking Allegra's bruised hand and soothing her, telling her she was lucky and she hadn't broken her neck. Dad, almost crying with anxiety. Telling her she would never snowboard again. Not after that accident. _

_Allegra, managing to half sit up the next day, asking the doctor is she would ever walk again, maybe even snowboard._

_The doctor, saying yes to walking, but no to snowboarding._

_Allegra's best friend J.J, trying to convince her that snowboarding had always been a bad idea anyway and she shouldn't try it again. And last of all, Allegra's much loved coach Damien, coming with flowers and get-well encouragement, but also telling Allegra that her snowboarding days were now officially over._

Allegra stretched her left hand, feeling the strained muscles pull with stiff pain after being removed from the bandage and cast the other day.

She sighed, gently flexing her newly reconstructed leg, hoping that it would be stable to walk on without crutches. Gingerly, Allegra stood, feeling her other leg, the one that had been left unscathed by the crash, settle itself comfortably without complaint. Otherwise, her whole being was miserable and sore.

A month ago, all of her bandages and casts had been removed, and she had recovered quickly after that. The only bandage she still had was on her right hand, where the fractured bones were still slowly healing. Her entire rib cage had had to be reconstructed, and Allegra felt that she might have been better off dead after what had happened during the surgery. She walked stiffly over to the special place by her wall where her precious snowboard had once stood.

But now, the Gript Ript+Snipt Spiderwork patterned snowboard lay in pieces in her dad's shed, growing cobwebs like the patterns that played over its fibreglass surface.

Allegra looked up at the wall where a picture of her and her ex boyfriend Connor hung.

Gazing up at it, she took in every detail: the two of them were standing together at Snow World, their snowboards standing beside them proudly as they hung an arm around each others shoulders.

Allegra winced as she remembered the snowboard stunt that had taken Connor's life.

She thought back to when he had brushed her away, telling her that he would be fine, that there was nothing to worry about.

_Connor appeared at Allegra's side, his snowboard gripped tightly in one hand. Allegra looked up at him surprise, since he stood about four inches taller than her. _

'_You are soo not serious,' she said, aghast. 'You can't go out there and take on that jump. Not in this weather.'_

_Connor smiled at her, his eyes cool behind his dark sunglasses._

'_I'll be fine, Al. Don't worry about me. That jump is way awesome, and I wouldn't do it if I thought I couldn't.'_

'_What if you can't?' Allegra asked, casting her eyes over the high, sloping jump._

'_Then I crash and burn. And it'll be my own fault. Don't worry, Allegra. I'll be okay, honest. And you'll be watching, so you can see me jump to victory.' He added jokingly, but Allegra grabbed his arm as he stepped forward._

'_Don't,' she said stubbornly, pulling him back._

_Connor took a gentle hold of her hand, and leaned close to her face._

'_You have to take a chance, Big Al. Otherwise you never get anywhere in life.' He whispered, and kissed her gently on the lips, lingering there for a moment, and then pulling back. He flashed her another quick smile, and then strode off, heading towards the start barriers._

Allegra brushed away an angry tear as she thought back over the rest of the accident.

_Connor was speeding down towards the jump, gathering speed and tensing every muscle._

_Allegra watched as he scooted up the side of the slope easily, and suddenly, everything went wrong. Connor lost his grip on the snow packed ice, slipping crazily across the top of the jump._

'_Connor!' she screamed, watching in horror as he flipped his board on end, desperately trying to bring it back under control._

_But the board twisted away from him, snapping his feet out of the bindings. She could only watch as he fell down, smashing his head on the ice on the side of the jump and then sliding to the bottom, crumpled and bleeding, smearing blood on the jump itself. Screams and shouts rose from the crowd of spectators. They could all tell this wasn't a stunt. Allegra leapt into action._

_Without thinking, she grabbed her own board and ran to the start barriers. Attendants were yelling at her, closing the barriers and telling her not to go out there. She didn't listen, only pulling herself back and then pushing herself forwards, cranking back on her board so that she flipped into the air over the attendants heads and off down the slope._

_She had reached Connor in seconds, and braked furiously so that she didn't hit him._

_Allegra stumbled from the footholds, allowing her board to spin away across the snow as she collapsed at Connor's side._

'_Connor!' she cried, fighting away tears. 'Connor, wake up, man! Wake up!'_

_There was no response. Ever so gently, Allegra lifted Connors head into her lap and gingerly took off his sunglasses._

_Connor was dead._

_There were no words for Allegra's horror and grief. Medics appeared at her side and took Connor's body away, leaving her kneeling there. Mom and Dad came running, comforting her and allowing her to cry on their shoulders._

_She was never the same again. How could she, when the one person she loved more than her mom and dad was dead?_

There was a knock at the door.

'Allegra?'

It was Mom, and Allegra went stiffly over to the door and opened it.

'Morning, Mom,' she said, and Elinor Sauvagess enfolded her daughter in a tight embrace.

'Hi, sweetheart. Feeling all right?' she asked, and Allegra nodded.

'Fine.' She lied through her teeth. 'Never better.'

Mom raised her eyebrows.

'Better than before the crash?'

Allegra shook her head.

'I feel broken still. And now my board's smashed, I have no idea what to do.'

Mom fondly smoothed Allegra's copper coloured hair.

'Well, we'll find you a new hobby. One that doesn't include throwing yourself into the air with nothing to land on but snow, ice, rocks or railing and a single flimsy piece of fibreglass under you feet to protect you.' She said, smiling at Allegra.

Allegra felt kind of angry, because she had loved snowboarding, and her awesome but broken board wasn't just "a flimsy piece of fibreglass", as her mother put it.

'Yeah,' she muttered.

Today suddenly went down hill.

Very, very quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Whole Heartache Thing.

'No.'

Allegra fumed silently.

'And why not?' she asked pointedly, icicles dripping from her words.

The conversation over breakfast had not been going well ever since Allegra sat down.

'Because your father said so,' Mom said plainly, taking another bite of her toast.

Allegra sighed dramatically.

'But I want to give snowboarding another chance. It's what Connor would want.'

Dad looked up at her from his newspaper.

'Allegra,' he said firmly, looking directly into her eyes. 'You and I both know what Connor would want for you. He would only want you to be safe and out of danger. That means: _no more snowboarding._'

Allegra rolled her eyes, pushing away her plate of untouched toast. Getting up, she sighed again.

'Where are you going?' Mom asked, craning her neck to look up at Allegra.

Allegra didn't say anything for a moment, only striding stiffly over to the key rack, grabbing the key to Dad's shed.

'I'm…I'll be out the back.' She said, not looking back at her parents, only heading to the back door and outside.

Allegra hauled open the shed door, listening to the comforting sound of the roller door squeaking beneath her hands as she unlocked and shoved the door open wide.

She stepped inside, watching her shadow as it was highlighted against the concrete floor as the morning sunlight streamed in. Sighing, Allegra stepped over a pile of cans full of paint to get to her broken snowboard.

She took the pieces out of the darkness of the corner that they had been shoved into and sat down on the concrete floor, relishing the coolness against her legs. She was wearing board shorts, a black tank top and her snowboarding boots, a comfort for her that her parents actually allowed.

The board in her hands was broken into four pieces. The front of it was chipped and snapped clean of the body of it, and the body was scratched and dented. The back end had been snapped clean off and in two. Allegra lay the pieces out in front of her, lining them up so that they took the rough shape of a snowboard.

Suddenly, there was a shadow towering over her.

'Hey, Al.'

She spun around, causing her back to complain slightly. She was still moving slowly, but was getting better.

It was Tom Atkinson from up the road. He had shoulder length red hair that stood up like a flame and wore torn jeans and a T-shirt that had its hem ripped off. He was the district champion skateboarder, and he understood Allegra's passion for snowboarding.

'Hi, Tom,' she said, getting stiffly to her feet. 'You're up early.'

Tom shrugged.

'Yeah, well. The skateboard get a little rusty in the wheels if she don't get the exercise she needs.' He said lazily, giving Allegra a quick high-five and a knuckle punch.

They had made the handshake when they were five, when Tom's parents had been baby-sitting Allegra while her Mom and Dad had been out at a friend of theirs party.

The handshake had stuck, and now, eleven years later, Allegra and Tom still did the handshake whenever they met up. Tom looked passed Allegra and saw her board laid out on the ground.

'You missing the ride?' he asked, and Allegra nodded.

'Yeah,' she said miserably, sitting down on an old chair. 'I feel like I want to give it up, after what happened to Connor, and then what happened to _me_, but it just doesn't feel right.'

'Hey,' Tom said, leaning against the wall opposite. 'If you feel like giving up is wrong, then its wrong. You were born for that board, man. So you keep getting back on it when it bucks you off.'

Allegra smiled. Tom had a way of lifting her spirits every time, and suddenly, her hope was refuelled.

'By the way,' Tom continued, stepping outside for a moment. 'I got something for you.'

Allegra looked out, but Tom came back, carrying something wrapped in a long, large beach towel.

'What is it?' she asked, but Tom only winked at her.

'Close your eyes a moment.'

Allegra did so, wondering suspiciously what it was.

'You can look now.'

Allegra opened her eyes, almost afraid to see it.

She couldn't believe her eyes.

It was a brand new snowboard, a flaming orange and red with yellow swirling through the mixture. Black, spider web-like patterns ran their way across the board's shiny surface. Allegra turned back to her board, the one that lay one the floor in pieces, and then at the new one.

They were exactly the same, apart from the fact that her old one was broken and the colour was faded after years and years of use, and the new one was intact and the colour shone out of it like the autumn-leaf patterned that danced its way across the boards underside.

'Tom, where did you find it?' Allegra asked, totally agog.

Tom laughed, and laid a hand on it.

'You know old Mocca down by the corner of St. Johns?' he asked. 'You know, the old guy who collects usable stuff out of tips and all to wash up and resell?'

Allegra nodded.

'Well, I was snooping around there yesterday and saw this, and so I asked him about it. He said that the shop owners of Surfer's Paradise had had it sitting around in the back, coz no one wants Spiderwork patterned snowboards anymore, so he took it. When I asked about the price, he just laughed at me and handed it to me, telling me it was mine or was to go to a good home.'

Allegra took the board into her hands, running expert fingers delicately over the glossy surface. The board was awesome and perfect, like a complete replica of her other board before the crash.

'Tom, its…its…awesome! It totally rocks! Thanks so much!' she said happily, turning and hugging him hard. Tom laughed and hugged her back.

'No problem, kiddo. She's yours, and I hope she sails like your old buddy here,' he said, nudging her old board with one foot.

Allegra smiled.

'Cheers, Tom. Honestly.'

Tom left a little later, and Allegra went inside to her parents.

'Hey Mom,' she said, looking in on Elinor. She was putting on lipstick, and Allegra made a face in the mirror at Mom.

'Yes?' Mom raised her eyebrows at Allegra's expression. 'Is there something wrong with wearing make-up?'

Allegra shrugged, leaning against the doorframe.

'I guess not. But anyway, you know Tom from up the road?'

Mom nodded just as Dad entered their bedroom.

'Well,' Allegra continued carefully. 'He found this snowboard out at old Mocca's and its like an exact copy of my old own, apart from the fact its kind of like, brand new, and Mocca just gave it to him. And then Tom reckoned I would like it, and so Tom gave it to me.' Allegra said quickly so that neither one of her parents could cut her off.

Dad looked in on them, and then looked sternly at Allegra.

'Give it back to him, Allegra.' He said, doing up his top button. 'You know we can't afford risk of you trying again.'

'But Dad, I know I can snowboard again!' Allegra said fiercely. 'Besides, what would Tom do with a snowboard? He's a _skate_boarder, not a _snow_boarder.'

Mom turned to Allegra, taking her gently by the shoulders.

'Allegra,' she said calmly. 'You've just turned seventeen. You should know what's right and what isn't. You know you can't go down to the Arena on Prior Street anymore, and you also know that your snowboarding days are over. You've known that for a year now, honey, and I won't let you go through anything like that again.'

Allegra frowned and turned away.

'But Mom, Tom said that I could do it. And I know I can. Connor – ' she began, but Dad cut her off.

'Connor got himself killed doing that crazy stunt. And if you think that you could too then you're just as daft as he was.'

Allegra felt heat rising within her. How dare Dad call Connor daft or stupid or lame or anything like that? He had no idea what Connor has been capable of, and now Allegra wanted to avenge Connor's memory, like a tribute to a warrior killed in battle.

'I don't care what you say,' Allegra said quietly, heading out of her parent's room. 'I'll get back on that snowboard. And I'll do that snow jump, because its what _I_ want.'

She heard Mom sigh behind her and Dad say something to Mom, but didn't quite catch it.

The only thing going through her head at that moment was the fact that she would ride the dangerous and life-threatening snowboard jumps again.

Someday.

Talk about heartache and depression.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Wipeout.

Mom and Dad left for work about an hour later, and at that time, Allegra was still out in the shed, where she had fled to after the downfall talk with her parents in their room.

She ran her fingers over the new snowboard, feeling its slight notches, its smoothness and its grooves.

The board was perfect, and Allegra looked fondly down at her old board.

'Sorry,' she said quietly. 'But I gotta try out your new buddy.'

Getting up, she felt her numb legs slowly regain feeling, and then moved stiffly out of the shed, made sure her parents had gone, and then went inside.

Inside, she pulled on her old cargo pants; the Green Machine ones Connor had given her for her fifteenth birthday.

They the ones she always wore when she went snowboarding, and though they were snug, they still had plenty of leg room and room to move in.

She grabbed her new snowboard, and strode outside.

She only had one intention in mind:

Go back to the Arena and test herself and her new board.

The walk down to Prior Street was long, but Allegra wasn't fussed.

During her recovery, while she was still on crutches, she had gone for walks along Prior Street, and had passed the snow park Arena every time before turning and heading back home.

Now, she strode proudly, her left leg getting easier to use as she moved more and more. Her new snowboard was strung across her back, covered by her old boards carry bag. She moved quickly, and was soon standing outside the parks main building, and hesitated.

Allegra wondered if it would be okay to try out.

The snow park had been built up around a huge old skate park, which had been left abandoned for several years.

Back when Allegra was seven, she had walked passed the place as it was getting rebuilt after school one time.

She showed up on the opening day, and had immediately been accepted by Damien, who, after seeing her first go on a borrowed snowboard, had appointed himself her personal coach.

Allegra remembered the first time she had been on the snowboard that she had borrowed, and she remembered how she had felt under Damien's expert radar.

_She nervously waited at the start, her determination fuelled by Damien's watchful eye._

'_Ready, little Allegra?' he called, and she nodded._

_He blew the starter whistle, and she pushed back hard, rocketing off into the simpler junior course._

_After several face plants and falling off the board several times, Allegra managed to finish._

_The smile she saw on Damien's face when he saw her come off the course breathing hard, red in the face, but smiling, she knew that she was going to go good._

'_Nice round,' he said. 'Not perfect, but no one's ever perfect on their first try.'_

_Allegra nodded and grinned up at him, tired, battered, but happy._

'_Thanks for giving me the go.' She said, looking up at him._

'_No problem.' Damien said. After pause, he said, 'Hey, would you like me to coach you? You look like you've got natural talent inside you, kid. You could really go places.'_

_Allegra smiled again, and from then on the coach and kid struck up a real team._

_Over the next nine years, Allegra practically grew up at the snow park, watching the other snowboarders go through the courses, and then she would try them herself._

_Damien watched, as Allegra grew stronger, more confident, and then went on to win the county title of Snowboarder of the Year._

_Allegra competed in many events, each time ranking first. Her natural talent blossomed, and when she was ten, in after her first three years of snowboarding, she acquired her first snowboard as a prize._

_It wasn't her Gript Ript+Snipt, and it wasn't as sturdy or as good as her awesome Spiderwork board either, but it was great nonetheless. _

Allegra jerked out of her daydream, knowing that she only had a few hours to try out the board before Mom and Dad got home.

She bit her lip, suddenly nervous.

Could she really still snowboard after the accident? She remembered what Tom had said in the shed:_ 'If you feel like giving up is wrong, then its wrong. You were born for that board, man. So you keep getting back on it when it bucks you off.'_

Allegra took a deep breath.

This was it.

Wipeout time.

Once inside the building, Allegra felt the wave of memories come flooding back to her. The smell of the place was exactly the same as before, the sort of, dry packed snow and ice, the smell of wet boots and the plastic smell of the fibreglass boards.

At the reception desk, Allegra saw Gareth, a snowboarder himself and also the Arena's chief organiser and manager.

He looked up to see her, and his eyes widened in surprise.

'Well,' he said slowly in his thick Texan accent, standing up and coming from behind the desk. 'Here's a face no one's seen for a long time.'

Allegra smiled, seeing that he was wearing the old battered cowboy hat that she had given him for Christmas one time.

'Hey, Gareth.'

They caught in a tight embrace, and Allegra felt totally at home.

'Nice to have you back, Big Al.' he said, stepping back to look her up and down.

'Nice to be back. But I only have a few hours. I thought I'd try out my new board. You know, give her a quick spin.'

Gareth nodded.

'Yeah, okay. I won't stop you, coz you know what's good for you and what ain't. You're a good judge, Allegra. Just don't crash out there. You've got a fan club.'

Allegra looked up, confused.

'What fan club?'

'The one that got together after your crash last year,' Gareth explained. 'They're a bunch of kids that reckon you're a snowboarding legend. And they would be right, coz after what you have done, and been through, you could be considered a legend.'

Allegra raised her eyebrows.

'Really?'

'Yeah. And you better make a good impression out there, even though it's your first time back on the board for a while.'

'How come?' Allegra asked, interested.

'There are a couple of judges and competitors from SSX 3 Snowboarding Association here looking for candidates for the Conquer the Mountain competition in The Rockies this year.' Gareth said. 'So…if you're pretty good out there…'

'You think I've got a chance of getting in?' Allegra asked, excitement whelming up inside of her.

'Ab-so-lutely.' Gareth drawled, grinning down at her. 'Go get 'im, cowgirl!'

Allegra grabbed up her bag again and moved off down the hallway, sending a wave back to Gareth.

'Thanks, Gareth!' she called, and he tipped his cowboy hat to her as she went.

Allegra strapped her booted feet into the board's footholds, excitement still bubbling inside her.

'Allegra!'

Turning, she saw Jesse coasting down to see her. Jesse was an old hand at snowboarding, and she and Allegra were often caught up in competition whenever possible.

'Howdy,' Jesse said lightly, braking to a stop next to Allegra. Jesse was also Gareth's big sister, and the friendly competition between her and Allegra had always been tight, bonding their friendship even tighter.

'Howdy, Jesse.' Allegra grinned, shaking Jesse's outstretched hand. 'How de do?'

Jesse laughed at Allegra's bad Western accent.

'The tone and accent needs more work, gal, but you're gettin' there.' She chuckled. 'So, what brings you back here after so long? Those ribs set straight?'

Usually, Allegra was self conscious when talking about the operation, but today was kind of looking up, so she smiled and went with the conversation.

'Pretty well, actually. The doctor's think I've made an amazing recovery in the past year. I guess now the last part of my treatment is to get back on the board.'

Jesse smiled.

'You're one heluva lair, kiddo. Like snowboarding's gonna be in your prescription. More like: try to relax, and don't kill yourself trying. But I reckon it's good that you're givin' it another shot. Welcome back to the ranch, cowgirl.'

Allegra grinned, and Jesse scooted out of the way so that she could move away from the bench.

'Anything new that I've missed?' Allegra asked, feeling the old rhythm of the snow beneath the board, and the board beneath her feet.

'Oh, nothing much,' Jesse said breezily. 'Want to try the indoor Termination?'

Allegra nodded, feeling the old muscles in her back stretch with recognition of the board.

The new Gript Ript+Snipt was as smooth as the old one, and allowed Allegra full control and balance.

'You fix your board? Those Spiderwork's don't come around in manufacture anymore.' Jesse commented, nodding to Allegra's board.

Allegra smiled.

'Friend found it for me. I just got it today.' She answered as they reached the starter barriers.

Damien stood over the indoor Termination track. Several snowboarders and other riders were going through the course, and he hoped one of the girls could make it through to go to the SSX 3 competition.

It would have been great if Allegra could have applied to go, but since she was still recovering, even the notion of sending her out to The Rockies was totally out of the question.

The judge from the SSX 3 competition stood beside him, watching carefully as the riders went sailing through the course like pros.

The judge was silent, as was his companion, a young man who was a competitor from Colorado, but Damien could tell they were analysing every movement every single one of his riders with a measured, expert eye.

Suddenly, a flash of orange caught Damien's eyes.

Turning, he saw a girl on a Gript Ript+Snipt Spiderwork snowboard tackling one of the harder jumps, alongside Jesse, who veered off towards another course to give the girl more room to move.

The girl had copper coloured hair that was tied back in two short plaits that trailed down her back to the bottom of her shoulders.

She manoeuvred the snowboard with a rough kind of grace, as if she hadn't been riding for a while, but was determined to stay in control of her board.

And yet she had a familiar look of concentration on her face, and suddenly, she took off from the jumps ramp, sailing through the air, higher than anyone else had gone, doing an Uber move that Damien coached kids to do privately.

Damien gripped the railing of the stadium tightly.

He knew the girl.

It was Allegra Sauvagess.

Allegra caught sight of Damien as she neared the finish. The last jump she had done – she had done it for him, to show him she could still ride the board like she used to.

Of course, Damien wouldn't be happy about it, he had told her himself that she would never be able to ride again.

But Allegra held tight as she came to a skating stop amongst the others, who all wore amazed and excited looks on their faces.

'Allegra, you're back!'

'That was awesome, dude!'

'You could classify for the C.T.M comp, man!'

'Damien was watching, and he's looking sooo amazed!'

Allegra felt herself being carried away by the sea of voices, knowing that even though she was out of practice, the snowboarding was still on for her.

Jesse's voice broke up the crowd.

'Come on, everyone! Give the gal a room, please! She's just had her first time back on track and she's out of practice.'

The crowd broke apart, talking excitedly amongst themselves.

Jesse left Allegra to catch her breath, and Allegra stayed behind at the finishing flags, looking back at the course from where she had just come from.

Suddenly, there was a voice behind her.

'Yo. How'd you like the board?'

Whirling, Allegra saw Tom slouching up to her, his hands shoved into his pockets.

'Tom!' she cried, stepping free of the footholds. 'It's totally amazing! Thanks so much! The boards just like my other one…it's…it's awesome, man!'

They shared their handshake, and Tom looked up at the stadium.

'Your coach was watching you. I tell you, his expression was one to be remembered.'

Allegra grinned.

'I feel like I've been away for too long, even though nothing has changed.' She admitted, and Tom nodded.

'I know the feelin', sweet. When I busted up my knee, I was out of commission for several months. But a year, that's different.' Tom looked back up at the stadium, and Allegra followed his gaze.

'Oh, crap.' Tom muttered. 'Heads up, here come the fireworks.'

Allegra swallowed. Damien, followed by two other men, one several years younger than the other, was striding down the stadium steps towards them.

'Now I've done it. If Damien figure's out that my parents don't know that I'm here, I'm toast,' she murmured, scooping up her snowboard. 'And that won't be good.'

'Yeah, man,' Tom whispered as the three men walked closer. 'Total wipe-out, dude.'


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Snow In The Face.

Allegra braced herself for a verbal pounding. She had seen the tail end and felt the full force of Damien's anger once too often – and she prepared herself for the worst.

When Damien reached her, Tom slipped behind her, as if letting her know that he would back her up if any violence broke out.

But instead of harsh words, Damien spread his arms wide, his face alight.

'Allegra!' he said, reaching for her. She accepted his embrace, and returned it tightly, closing her eyes and relishing the closeness between coach and rider. 'So good to have you back, Allegra.'

'It's…cool to be back,' Allegra said, stepping back and looking down at her boots.

Damien nodded, and stepped aside so that the judge and the snowboarder behind him could come forward.

'Miss Sauvagess,' the older man said, extending a hand. 'I am George Ruce, manager of the SSX 3 snowboarding Championships. And this is one of our finalists, Nate Logan.'

Allegra smiled and shook Mr Ruce's hand, and the Nate's.

'Great to meet you both,' she said, and Damien gave her a quick glance, telling her:

_Meet me in my office afterwards. You have explaining to do._

Allegra gave a slight nod, and was carried away by the voices of Mr Ruce and Damien on a wave of deliriousness, out-of-breath talking, and a happy feeling that told her that maybe today would turn out better than expected.

'We'd like to see a further demonstration of your skills before we make anymore decisions.' Mr Ruce said, and Allegra's heart tightened.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that she only had half an hour to get home before her parents, and the walk back took at least forty minutes.

'Um…I really would, but I've got to get going, I'm sorry.' Allegra said hurriedly, getting up, but Damien put a stern hand on her arm.

'Allegra, you back out and you don't have any chance again.' He told her firmly, forcing her to sit back down.

'But, my parents… and you said I never had a chance on the board again after the accident!' she cried, taking both Mr Ruce and Nate by surprise.

'What accident?' Nate asked, his eyes clouded with confusion. Then, they cleared as he obviously remembered. 'Oh, that accident.'

'Yeah, that accident,' Allegra shot Damien a murderous look, and he returned the glare.

George Ruce cleared his throat.

'Well, Mr Foster, if you don't think your rider Miss Sauvagess would be able to qualify for the races – ' he began, but Allegra cut him off fiercely.

'Of course I can race! If anyone knows that, it's me.' She said, almost spitting out the words. They were all seated in Damien's office, and then, Nate spoke up again.

'I know you're still recovering, Allegra, but if your feeling up to it, I'll take you on for another Termination. Just you and me – competitive style,' he invited.

Allegra jerked upright.

She remembered the vow she had made in hospital – the one where she had sworn to herself never to snowboard competitively ever, ever again. Only for fun.

'No,' she said firmly. 'No way. Sorry, but the competition is over for me. Now I only ride for fun. I'm never competing again.'

She saw Damien's distraught reaction, and got up and turned away.

'Sorry, coach.' She whispered, and she heard one of them get up. She expected it to be Damien who would come to her shoulder – but it was Nate.

'Come on. No prizes, just you, me, the Termination, and a stop watch.' He said, a hand gently on her shoulder.

Allegra turned, looking up into his deep brown eyes. The temptation was too much – she couldn't resist the offer.

'All right,' she sighed, extending her hand for him to shake. 'You're on. First past the flag is the winner.'

Nate smiled at her, and Allegra hoped that she was doing the right thing.

It was either that – or she would end up with a whole load of snow in the face.

They tightened the straps around their feet, and then the tag straps to their chests and wrists, to monitor their progress and to help them communicate.

'Not that we'll really need them here,' Allegra commented, but Nate shrugged.

They gave each other a quick glance, and Allegra took in Nate's relaxed posture.

He wore a dark brown ski jacket, with black; waterproof combat pants and chunky snowboarding boots.

His snowboard was a less common Bruiser type, a bit like Allegra's own Spiderwork, except that his board was faded and worn, unlike her new one.

'Looks like both of us have a thing for rare boards,' Nate said as they pushed off the bench towards the starting barriers.

'Yeah, except for the fact the Spiderwork boards are, like, pure ownage.' Allegra said, casting Nate a mischievous wink. 'And Bruiser's have just gone out of fashion.'

Nate laughed as they scooted up to the start barriers.

'Well, maybe next you – '

'Allegra Sauvagess!'

Allegra whirled, to see Mom and Dad stalking towards her, their faces pale with anger and worry.

She checked her watch – she should have been on her way by now.

But this was different, and she didn't want her next chance on her new board to go down the drain.

'Your Mom and Dad?' Nate asked as Allegra turned back to the barriers and took a firm grip of the railing.

'Yeah,' she muttered through gritted teeth. 'And as stupid as hell with their rules about "no more snowboarding for Allegra".'

Nate caught her eye, and he flashed her a smile.

'Ever heard the saying, that rules are there to be broken?'

'Heard of it?' Allegra scoffed. 'That's my life's motto.'

At that point, Mom and Dad had reached the two of them, and Damien was hurrying towards them as well.

'Allegra Sauvagess get down from there at once!' Mom cried, tears almost streaming down her face. 'You have no idea how much grief and shock you've put us through.'

'Allegra,' Dad said, not half as calmly. 'You are never, _ever_ coming back here. Not today, not next week, _ever_. Am I clear?'

Allegra cast an angry look down at them from the barriers.

'Yeah, clear as snow.' She said through her teeth. 'But the thing is, your snow is different to mine. Dad, you always said to listen to my gut feeling, so I am. Right now my gut feeling is telling me to get the hell through this course and then face the consequences on the other end.'

Mom and Dad started shrieking at her, yelling at her to come down and not go, and that her next birthday wasn't going to be coming around any time soon.

But Allegra was tired of their threats – they were lame and old, and now had no bearing. She was going to be eighteen next year and old enough to look after herself.

Totally.

Nate gave her a nudge.

'Is the race still on?'

Allegra grinned rebelliously at him.

'Start the stopwatch.'

And with that, she launched herself into the indoor Snow Jam course again, getting up the rhythm and speed, and leaving her mother and father with face fulls of snow.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Snow Jam – Spread Extra Thick.

The new layer of fake snow had been freshly laid, and Allegra powered through it, feeling the board move in time with her, and she felt totally in control and on balance.

Nate was snowboarding close by, occasionally giving her advice on how to improve her posture – or just giving her plain out encouragement.

She was half way through the Termination when Nate's voice sounded from the patch on her wrist again.

'Hey, Allegra! Up to the left! Keep your balance and watch this!'

She cranked her head up to the left to see where Nate had said, and then saw him burst from a miniature snow bank.

While in the air, he flipped his heels over his head, grabbing his board with both hands and doing a spinning board stand for about ten seconds straight before he came down, righted himself, and landed with succession.

'That was awesome, man!' Allegra cried into her own patch, and she caught Nate's satisfied grin. 'Way out of my league!'

She heard Nate laugh.

'No way, Big Al. You could totally do this move. Easy peasy. Nothing to it.'

Allegra brought her attention back to the track in front of her.

Up ahead was the larger ramp that she had taken on earlier, and with a glance up at the stadium, she caught sight of Mom and Dad watching her anxiously. It alarmed her to see such fright and anxiety on their faces – usually she would have seen pride or they would be cheering her on as loudly as possible.

She frowned, determined to show them that she could do this again. She saw Damien standing with Mom and Dad, and than raised her eyebrows in surprise as she saw him giving her a thumbs up sign. Giving the American two-finger salute, she powered forward again, heading straight for the jump.

The track was a little rougher here, and she saw Nate's expression as he watched her going straight for the ramp.

'Allegra!'

Mom's voice screamed through her concentration, and she looked up at the last minute to see the horrified look on her mothers face as she entered the take-off zone.

Looking back quickly, Allegra suddenly realized that with Mom calling her name, she had over-boarded.

The jump was looming too fast too quickly, and she went into a cartwheel – face plant over it, managing to plant her hands in the ground for the millisecond as she spun over the jump.

Her mother's scream echoed through her ears as she went in what seemed to be slow-motion, and suddenly, she was flipped the right way up again, and planted her board firmly as she sped towards the finish, where Nate was waiting for her, the look of amazement on his face was totally indescribable.

'Now I couldn't _that _for all the snowboarding medals and trophies in the world,' he said as she came to a skating halt next to him, breathing hard, but grinning her head off.

Allegra laughed, and her laugh died as she turned to face her parents.

'Nah. Nothing to it,' she muttered, and got ready for the jamming.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

School – Bad, Badder And Worse.

Two days later, Allegra was slumming her way back to school.

She groaned as she hauled herself out of bed, and knew that the day was going to be like it had been two days before: boring, bad, and even worse.

She had said nothing over breakfast, only nodding dully along with Mom and Dad's dramatic droning on about "coming straight home from school, picking up her grades." Blah, blah, blah.

Allegra hardly heard them. She still had to get word from Damien and Mr Ruce about the SSX 3 competition.

With any luck, she hoped, Mr Ruce would have thought her performance back in the Arena worthy of trials, and maybe even the real new season of snowboarding in The Rockies.

She trudged to the bus stop, and waited alone for the bus to turn up.

When the bus came, she got on silently, and although there were cries out to her from the other year twelves from up the back, Allegra chose a seat closer to the front of the bus.

School itself wasn't much better.

Stowing her iPod into her cargo pants pocket as the bus pulled into the bus bay outside the school, Allegra decided to keep a low attitude today, which for her, wasn't easy.

Moving slowly to class, she heard greetings from teachers coming at her, jokes from her tight group of friends as they swarmed around her, trying to find out how she had recovered, but Allegra barely heard anything.

She was concentrating on the snowboarding competition, and wondering if she had done the right thing by putting herself up to Nate's challenge.

'Allegra, kindly answer when your name is called.'

Allegra jerked back to reality, and swivelled her head smartly to her homeroom teacher, Mr Brinks.

'What?' she asked, still half daydreaming about snowboarding the steep slopes of The Rockies.

'I said, please respond when your name is called. I think we all preferred the old Allegra who was always on the ball with some kind of rougish comment about my new kind of dress sense.'

The classmates around Allegra sniggered and cast sly glances her way. Allegra sent them all glares that could promise following violence, and they let her be. Then, she faced Mr Brinks again.

'Sorry, sir. It's not easy to concentrate on schoolwork while your poncing around trying to make your unnecessarily weird clothing obvious, so I'm just waiting for you to get to the point.' She smiled sweetly at him, and received more sniggers and giggles from her friends and classmates. But this time, they were smirking with her, not at her.

'Ah – yes, well…Miss Sauvagess, how would you like to spend your first day back at school here with me at lunch?' Mr Brinks returned the smile, and Allegra groaned dramatically.

'Oh, come on, sir. It's not my fault your brain tells you to look like a complete flunk everyday. Be fair.' She retorted shortly.

Mr Brinks chortled, but it wasn't with her joke.

'How about we make that today and tomorrow in here? I'm sure that you'll appreciate the extra time to begin the S+E project that's due in at the end of the week.' He said snidely, and Allegra rolled her eyes.

'Whatever,' she said flippantly, knowing that Mr Brinks hated that.

The day was, indeed, going downhill.

Allegra trudged through the first half of the day, half listening to the teacher, but mostly thinking about how she would be able to get out of school again.

Her friend J.J, who sat next to her, knew that she usually concocted some reasonable excuse that most teachers would buy to skip school.

But even J.J was sceptical with Allegra's snowboarding accident. She had assumed that Allegra had pulled some strings at the hospital to fake an accident, but even that was a bit too far fetched for Allegra.

'Hey,' J.J hissed at Allegra about ten minutes before lunch. 'Is there any point in me saving you a seat in the lunch hall?'

Allegra looked up, momentarily confused, and then remembered where she was. Leaning over to J.J, she smiled behind her English book.

'Better be safe than sorry,' she whispered as their English teacher, Miss Turner, wrote up a soppy love poem about Julius Caesar on the white board. 'Don't want to fall asleep and sleep through Mr Brinks's detention.'

'What was that, Allegra?' Miss Turner's voice rang through the class, and several heads turned towards Allegra. Again.

'Err, veni vidi vici. I came, I saw, and I couldn't believe the lunch line.' Allegra spoke up, and Miss Turner's face softened and she chuckled quietly.

'That's right, Allegra, that _is _the next line of the poem, though not exactly what I had in mind for the second part. Thank you for your contribution to the class.'

Miss Turner turned back to the whiteboard, and Allegra wiped a hand across her forehead and motioned a "phew" to J.J behind Miss Turner's back.

J.J laughed at her silently, and they both turned back to their work.

As the bell rang and the rest of the class dispersed, Allegra calmly kicked back on her chair, and swung her feet up on the desk.

Several of the other kids sent either amused or worried glances her way as they left, but Allegra waved them away.

Mr Brinks strode in, and slammed a heavy physic's book down on the desk, meaning to surprise her.

Allegra didn't budge an inch.

'I thought you were talking about an S+E project,' she yawned, and Mr Brinks shrugged.

'This may not be for you, Miss Sauvagess, but it may become your homework. Or it may even replace the spot where you head once was.' He chuckled at his own joke as if it was funny, but Allegra raised her eyebrows at him, showing him she wasn't amused at all, only thoroughly bored.

'Can we get on with this? I'm not one for hanging around. Unless of course it's in the snowboarding ring.' She said casually, swinging her feet down off the desk and sat forward.

'Which is precisely what your parents called me about,' Mr Brinks said, sitting down at his own desk that sat at the head of the class. 'They tell me you've been a bit more rebellious than usual and need more restraining this time.'

Allegra scoffed.

'Hey, where am I? School or boot camp?' she shrugged, her arms folded defiantly across her chest.

'School,' Mr Brinks continued, unphazed. 'And now – '

A knocking at the door cut him off, and he stood up angrily.

'Now what?' he strode to the door and opened it.

Nate peered in.

'Oh, hi, Mr…' he trailed off, quickly looking at Mr Brinks's badge. '…Ah, Brinks. I was wondering if Miss Allegra Sauvagess was here…?'

Allegra stood, a smile on her face.

'Nate! What are you…'

'Big Al!' Nate grinned at her. 'Come on, grab your stuff!'

Allegra hesitated. Where was he going to take her? Maybe the detention was looking like a good option after all.

'Why…?'

A scruffy nine-year-old child poked his head around the door, and his face lit up as he saw Allegra.

'Wow! Allegra Sauvagess! Man, you would not believe how pretty sweet this is! Come on, gal, we've gotta ride those circuits!' he cried, and Nate smiled and put a hand on the little boys shoulder.

'Sorry, Al. This is Griff. He's another one of our finalists…'

Just then, Mr Brinks stepped back in shock as a gothic; emo-ish looking adolescent poked her dyed red-and-black hair into the class around Nate's arm.

She took one look at Allegra and beamed, showing several brilliant white teeth.

'Yo, Nate!' she said coolly. 'You've got us a good one this time!' she stepped into the room, breezing past Mr Brinks, and went over to Allegra.

Up close, Allegra took in the girl's appearance. She wore a tight leather jacket, a white and red-splotched tank top, jigsaw-patterned cargos, and heavy, clumpy snowboarding boots. The amount of earrings and accessories that hung off her ears and around her neck and wrists was unbelievable, taking Allegra totally by surprise.

'Zoe,' MetallicGothGirl said, extending a hand, her fingernails painted a heavy black.

'Yeah,' the kid called Griff said excitedly. 'Or as we know her, Royal Payne. Coz her names Zoe Payne…'

'Watch it, Grommett.' Zoe said, turning back to Griff and raising a hand in his direction.

Allegra stepped back, a little nervous all of a sudden.

'Who exactly are these yahoo's?' she asked, aiming at Nate, but before he could answer, a more mature blonde head poked around the door.

'Is she ready yet? Moby's tooting the horn out there and getting bored.' The young woman in the door saw Allegra, and smiled.

'Ah, Allegra, this is Elise. In depth detail and intro's later, right now, we gotta go.' Nate said, looking back down the hallway. 'Before we attract too much attention.'

Allegra nodded, and grabbed her backpack from beside her desk.

'I'm ready. Where are we going?' she asked, following Zoe out into the hall to join Nate, Elise and a hyperactive Griff.

'The Rockies!' Griff cried.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

In And Out – What Schools All About, Right?

'Pardon me for raining on your parade, Miss Sauvagess, but you know full well that you're not to leave the school grounds without the accompaniment of an adult.' Mr Brinks's voice cut through the confusion, bringing Allegra back to reality with a jolt. All around her, the excitement evaporated.

Suddenly though, a rough voice that sent shivers down Allegra's spine spoke with the quietness of a prowling tiger.

'Ain't I adult enough for ya, _sah_?'

Allegra stopped cold.

She had hoped that she would never have to hear that voice ever again, especially since the owner of it had caused her to almost break her neck.

Turning slowly, everyone faced the shadow that hovered in the corridor. Allegra's throat closed as Psymon Stark stepped out, a calm maniac smile quivering over his lips.

'Oh, my God, no.' she murmured, and Griff grabbed her sleeve, giving it a hefty tug.

'Whaddya mean, "no"?' he asked. 'Psymon is…'

Elise shot him a look, and then finished for him.

'One of our other finalists. Of course, Allegra, you are totally able to say no if you want to. It simply means that you're backing out of a challenge that will haunt you for life. No grudges held, of course.'

Nate elbowed her, and Psymon stepped up to Allegra, standing almost six inches taller than her.

Allegra swallowed. Psymon was twenty-seven, and she was seventeen. Not much of a no-brainer in the challenge line.

'No,' she said defiantly, glaring up at Psymon, who smirked. 'I am _so_ not versing you ever, _ever_ again.'

'Fine,' he quipped, his gelled spikes making the hair on the back of Allegra's neck prickle. 'Your punch got no juice, pardner. You couldn't take Elise to town with that look.'

Allegra stepped back from him, wanting to get as far away from him as she could, when Mr Brinks intervened again.

'Allegra, get back to your desk. You are not going anywhere. And if you try, I'll be calling your parents immediately. You lot,' he motioned at the others crowding around the doorway. 'Scoot, before I call the police.'

Zoe scoffed, her spiked dog collar shaking at her throat.

'That's a laugh. Come on, kid. This is your last chance, or you miss out big. No matter _what_ Psymon says.' Zoe threw Psymon a death glare, and Allegra made up her mind.

'All right,' she said. 'But – '

A screeching of brakes and several screaming kids cut her off, and made everyone spin around to the outside undercover area outside the foyer.

A transit van pulled to a stumbling halt, and a tall, lanky blond teen that looked to be about a year or two older than Allegra jumped out, landing neatly on the ground and then burst into the foyer.

'Hey! Come on guys, clean up your act and lets move! Admin has called police on us and Moby's getting restless. Do we have Big Al or not?' he cried, and everyone, including Mr Brinks, turned to Allegra.

Allegra looked at them, and then tightened her grip on her backpack.

'I'm in.' she said determinedly.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Transit Van vs. Boys in Blue

Nate grabbed hold of Allegra shoulder and propelled her towards the door. Griff ploughed ahead and swung the door open. Zoe had already jumped in front of her and tore open the van door. The lanky blonde teenager swung Allegra a wink as she jumped inside, and Elise blew several onlooking boys a sweet-hearted air kiss.

Psymon, however, didn't get in the van fast enough when the guy in the drivers seat, who the blonde introduced as Moby, stepped on the gas.

'What about him?' Allegra asked as Moby jerked the van out of the undercover area, making kids, teachers, and the like dive for cover.

'He'll catch up.' Griff reassured her, and suddenly, Elise looked out the window and laughed.

Allegra looked out as well, and almost laughed herself.

Psymon had somehow gotten onto the roof, and was tearing along the top of the buildings, keeping level with the van as it raced around the side of the building.

Zoe opened the hatch and jerked a thumb to Psymon.

As they swung on two wheels around the next corner, Psymon jumped from the roof, and straight through the hatch.

Nate clapped Allegra on the shoulder.

'Now that's something neither of us could do.' He said, and Allegra forced a weak smile, her stomach knotted in confusion, fright, pure excitement and adrenaline.

Moby pulled the van out of the school grounds and onto the tarmac road, sending the brakes screeching and the whole vehicle lurching.

'You are _so_ not driving next time!' screamed Zoe over the roar of the engine. 'You nearly got all of us killed back then!'

'Good!' Moby called back, and Psymon cackled.

'Not too hard on the stitches, Sauvagess?' he asked, poking Allegra on the shoulder. She tried to back away, and Elise took her arm and guided her to a seat.

'Buckle in,' Elise instructed, and Allegra did so without hesitation.

Around her, Nate, Zoe, Griff, Elise, the blonde kid, and even Psymon were grabbing seats and putting on seatbelts.

Moby lurched the van into third, and then back into first.

'What the fuck are you doing?' Elise cried, looking like she was about to be decapitated by her own seatbelt. 'Trying to improve your chances of death?'

Moby didn't reply, and if he did, Allegra couldn't hear him, because he slammed on the brakes to avoid a head on collision with several police cars that were stationed right in front of them.

'Crap,' the blonde kid muttered.

'Step out of the vehicle with your hands over your heads.' One of the policemen in front of them instructed clearly.

Griff looked slightly spooked.

'What do we do now?' he asked, and Zoe stood.

'We do as they say. Or at least, I will.'

She got up, and pulled open the sliding door on the side of the van, her hands high in the air.

'All of those in the vehicle are to step out of the car. Now.' Another policeman said sternly into his radio. 'Please proceed.'

Zoe turned back to everyone in the van, completely oblivious to the fact that the boys in blue behind her had Tasers's aimed straight at her.

'Yeah,' she said. 'Come on, you heard them. Proceed.'

Moby stepped on the gas again, Allegra gripped tightly to the sides of her seats as she felt sure that Moby was about to go straight through Zoe.

Zoe did an Olympic style back flip into the air, spinning over the van, and then came down through the hatch in the roof, that was still open.

'Nothing to it,' she grinned at them all, and then grabbed tight to the seat that Griff was in as Moby swerved the van around a tight corner.

'We've got to ditch the van!' he yelled, and Elise nodded.

'We've got the mobile home up ahead in about ten kilometres, just as we hit the overpopulated area of town!' she called back, and Moby gave her thumbs up.

The wailing of the police sirens behind them was drained out as they slowly pulled away from the cops. The wind snatched away all other conversation, so they all lapsed into silence, allowing Moby time to concentrate.

Soon, they came into the more populated area of town, as around the school wasn't that built up.

Nate struggled from his seat, and headed up to Moby.

'Take a left!' he yelled, and Moby swerved left.

There was a mobile home parked a little way up the street, and Moby pulled the van to a grinding halt just behind it.

'All right, everyone out!' Zoe called, and everyone got out.

Allegra felt shaken and slightly sick from the jolting and heart-stopping ride, but she didn't know it was going to get a lot worse.

'A little shaken?' the blonde stepped up to jog alongside her as they headed towards the mobile home.

'Just a bit,' Allegra admitted as Griff hauled open the doors to the new vehicle.

The blonde kid laughed, and then extended his hand.

'Viggo. More details later,' he said. 'And you're Allegra?'

'Big Al, by preference,' Allegra said, shaking Viggo's hand. 'But yeah, it's Allegra.'

Psymon was about to get into the drivers seat, when Elise grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled him back.

'No way, Canucki,' she said smoothly, pushing him away as she climbed behind the wheel herself. 'We don't want to scare away Allegra before we've gotten to the airport.'

Psymon shrugged, and then said to Allegra,

'You better know how to get to your place from here, otherwise I'll find it for you.'

Allegra opened her mouth to snap back at him, but Nate took her arm.

'Don't worry about him,' Nate reassured her as they got into the back. 'He's a little physco when he wants to be. Otherwise he's just plain wacky.'

Allegra nodded.

'I figured. Thanks for the tip.'

'Keep it in mind,' Nate grunted, hoisting himself up on top of the mobile cooker. Then he looked out the back window and paled slightly.

'Elise?' Griff's quavering voice made them all stop.

'Yeah?'

'Step on it. I can hear them coming already.'

Elise obligingly gave the gas pedal a hefty stomp, and they tore off down the road.

'We're going in circles.' Viggo whined.

'No we're not.'

'Actually, Elise, we are.' Moby put in, looking up tiredly from the couch of the mobile home, where he and Viggo were slumped.

Nate, who was in the front with Elise, looked back through the curtain.

'That's the whole point, doofus. This way we'll lose the boy's in blue.'

Finally, they pulled away from the other traffic, and Elise turned back to face Allegra, who had taken refuge by sitting in front of the built in fridge.

'All right, Big Al. Where do we go from here?'

Allegra scrambled up, and Nate hopped out of the passenger seat so she could sit down.

'Um,' she thought for a moment, orientating herself with her surrounding's outside the mobile home. 'From here, you take a left.'


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Home And Away.

It was getting later into the afternoon when they pulled up at the end of Allegra's street, and the shadows had begun lengthening when Allegra, Nate, Elise and Griff crept up to the side of Allegra's house.

Allegra checked around the corner of the fence, and looked down the driveway towards the garage.

From where she was, she could here the sounds of her dad whistling as he worked on the new table that was going to go in their backyard.

She nodded to the others as he disappeared around another corner, and they snuck through the front yard, staying close to the house and out of view of the windows.

Once in the small side lane of the house, Allegra turned to the others.

'All right, what's the plan?'

'Plan?' Nate asked, and Elise elbowed him.

'We get in, grab what you need, then we get out, leave a note for your parents if you want, and then we get the hell out of here.' She said, and Allegra withered inside.

She didn't want to just up-and-away on her parents, but she knew she would never get a chance like this again.

Biting her lip, she reached into her back pocket for her pocketknife.

'Okay, I can get through the window at the edge there,' she nodded down to the end of the house where a window stood in the brickwork. 'But I think that only Griff and I could get in.'

'Cool,' whispered Griff. 'You and me go in, we grab your gear, we pass it out, and we get out. Simple.'

'Simple,' Nate said quietly. 'But dangerous.'

Allegra nodded, knowing the size of the risk she was taking.

'Let's go.'

Allegra jiggled the window frame gently until it came loose, and then slid it silently out of place.

Giving Griff a boost, she followed him quickly up into the laundry, all of the times she had slipped out over the years paying off.

'Right, this way.' She murmured, and Griff followed her silently down the hall.

They got to Mom and Dad's room, and Allegra paused, listening with one ear to the closed door for the sound of her mother sleeping.

Giving Griff a reassuring nod, they continued on tiptoe to her own room.

Opening the door gently, she looked around, and Griff stared around in awe.

'Way awesome room, man.' He breathed, looking up to her shelf of snowboarding trophies.

Allegra smiled, and pulled two suitcases from her closet, and started hauling out her old snowboarding clothes from her drawers and cupboard.

'Man, you must really know what to pack.' Griff noted, coming up beside her as she handed back one already full suitcase.

'Yep. Love to travel light,' Allegra whispered, stuffing more things into the second suitcase.

Griff nodded, and then hurried quietly down the hall to the laundry to pass out the first suitcase to Nate.

Allegra pulled the second suitcase closed, and then lugged it down the hall to where Griff was waiting.

Suddenly, there was a sound from Mom's room.

'Shit,' Allegra muttered. 'Go, go!'

Griff hurtled through the frameless window like an Olympic athlete, and Allegra followed after passing out the next suitcase.

There was noise behind her as Mom emerged from the room, looking tussled and sleepy.

'Bugger,' Allegra muttered again. 'My snowboard!'

'I got it,' Elise said quietly as Allegra pulled the frame back into place. Sure enough, Elise had Allegra's Spiderwork snowboard in its carrying case.

'Thanks,' Allegra hissed, hearing the phone ring from inside the house, just as Mom came closer to the laundry to find a pair of jeans.

Holding her breath as she heard her mother move away to answer the phone, and then sighed with silent relief as Mom picked up the phone, jeans forgotten.

Nate grabbed Allegra's wrist.

'Let's move,' he breathed into her ear, and she nodded, hesitating slightly before following him.

Griff and Elise had already made their way back to Moby and Psymon in the van, and Allegra and Nate slipped past the front of the house to join them.

'Where was my board?' Allegra asked Elise as they got into the mobile home.

Elise shrugged.

'Out back. Leaning against the wall, waiting for you.' Elise answered flippantly, stepping into the front seat just as Moby stowed away a mobile phone.

In the back, Viggo and Psymon were grinning their heads off, and Zoe looked like she was going spare.

'Guys,' she muttered to Allegra as she took a seat next to her. 'They called your Mom after seeing her get up through the window of her bedroom.'

Moby shrugged.

'It was to give them more time to get back.'

'Yeah,' Viggo chipped in. 'Couldn't have let you get caught by your Mom.'

Psymon coughed meaningfully, jerking a thumb towards the house.

'You's may wanna move it. Here comes yo' Mom.' He said casually, and Elise jumped on the gas pedal.

'Hang tight,' she grunted as she pulled the van off the curb and onto the road again, giving everyone a large bump. 'We've got a place to stay overnight, and then we've got a flight to catch in the morning.'

Allegra swallowed, and looked back at her house one last time.

She blinked and looked again, because she could have sworn that Tom was out there on his skateboard, watching her disappear down the road in the mobile home.

'What's wrong?' Nate put a hand on her shoulder.

Allegra shook her head.

'Nothing. Honest.'


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 B+B

Allegra shifted slightly on the mattress.

She was in the bed of the mobile home, with Griff and Viggo taking up the two couches below her.

Psymon had resided to sleeping on the roof of the mobile home that night, while everyone else had taken refuge in the Bed and Breakfast place across the street from where they were parked.

Suddenly, Allegra's phone vibrated.

She had an incoming text.

**To: Big Al **

**From: Tom-Boy**

**Subject:**

**Wher r u? Yo mom+dad r goin crazy out here.**

Allegra paused for a moment before texting back:

To: Tom-Boy

**From: Big Al**

**Subject: **

**I'm wif frndz. Goin north 2 The Rockies. Dis is mi B+B. (big break). Don't tell M+D. Plz.**

**I wont b gon 4 long. Da snowboard'n slopes r callin.**

Allegra sent the text, and waited for a reply.

It came soon enough.

**To: Big Al**

**From: Tom-Boy**

**Subject:**

**Yo Mom iz goin spar. You haf 2 cum hom now. Snowboard'n isn't ur thing animor.**

**Plz. Plz. Plz!**

Allegra swallowed, and then returned the message.

To: Tom-Boy

**From: Big Al**

**Subject: **

Sorry, Tom. U no me. I'm rebel. I need dis 2 sho M+D dat I can stil snowboard. Itz mi big chance, & I haf 2 tayk it!

If u tel dem wher I am I'll kil u wen I get bac.

Allegra tried to swallow the lump in her throat, and heard someone move below her.

'Big Al,' Griff whispered.

'Yeah?' she crawled on her stomach to the edge of the bed, and looked down at Griff, who looked tired and sleepy in the clothes he had worn that day.

'Are you having regrets about this?' he hissed, and Allegra shook her head, lying through her teeth.

'No. I need the break. Don't worry about me.' She whispered back. Just then, her phone vibrated again. She ignored it.

'Okay,' Griff whispered agreeably. 'Sorry.'

'It's okay,' she answered, and watched as he trudged quietly back to his couch.

Rolling onto her back, Allegra flipped open her phone again, only to be greeted with the text message:

**To: Big Al**

**From: Tom-Boy**

**Subject:**

U r so urself. U need a wayk call, not a snowboard'n trip. U r such a bitchy slut sumtymz. Get a grip, airhead.

Allegra felt tears prickling her eyes as she re-read Tom's latest text. The words hurt her like a paper cut, and she hoped that he wouldn't send her anything more.

Her phone vibrated several more times that night, but Allegra ignored it, knowing that she would unravel at the seams if she opened another text from Tom.

Six hours later, there was a scratching on the roof that pulled Allegra from a restlessly hard sleep.

She opened her eyes, and looked over the inside of the mobile home, registering where she was again.

Suddenly, a gelled Canuck head swooped in from the roof hatch, and Psymon looked around him.

'You up already?' he asked twitchily, and Allegra groaned inwardly.

'Apparently so.' She muttered as the door swung open, revealing Elise, who was already fully dressed and awake.

'Everybody up. Our flight leaves two hours.' She ordered sharply, and Griff and Viggo sat up blearily.

'Aww, Elise,' Griff mumbled as Psymon swung down from the roof hatch. 'Why this early? What time is it?'

'Dark-o-thirty.' Viggo said almost unintelligibly, gazing dumbly at his watch. 'In other words, far too early.'

Elise sighed, and looked up at Allegra.

'Up and ready yet, cowgirl?' Elise asked as Allegra climbed down from the bed that overhung the cabin.

'Sort of,' Allegra was only wearing her tank top from underneath her school shirt, her baggy cargos and her snowboarding boots, which she had decided to leave on the night before.

'Well, you've got half an hour to breakfast,' Nate said, poking his head in over Elise's shoulder. 'And then we've got some stuff to get and then we'll be on our way to the airport by seven thirty.'

'Which means it's something like…um, five thirty now.' Viggo said, working the math quickly. 'Hey! Five thirty! You've got to be joking!'

'Strangely enough, I don't remember that being in the job description.' Elise said, handing Psymon a jacket.

'What's this for?' Psymon said, playing dumb. He himself was only wearing cargos and boots. Sometime during the night he had abandoned his torn black shirt somewhere.

'It's to prevent you from catching pneumonia,' Nate said. 'Or, to shorten it down for your sake, to keep up your chances on the circuit.'

'Did somebody say "circuit"?' Griff asked, raiding the fridge.

'Yep,' Psymon muttered as he pulled the jacket over his head the wrong way. Done on purpose. 'And we won't get there til…whenever we do.'

'Come on, Grommett,' Elise sighed, pulling Griff by the back of his shirt away from the fridge. 'Breakfast is gonna be the real thing this time. Actually like a civilized meal, with plates, forks, and table manners.'

'Aww, Elise,' Viggo whined. 'Why here? Isn't the old fridge good enough for you?' he tried reasoning as Elise tugged a lightweight jacket over a squirming Griff's head.

'No. I know you guys hate the travelling, but it doesn't hurt you to express the fact that you're real people, not cannibals.' She let go of Griff, and Nate turned to Psymon.

'What about you? Reining in your madness to suffer through one meal with everyone? Or will you hang out here til we get back?'

Psymon shrugged, casting a quick glance at Allegra.

'No biggie. I'll hang here. I'm not one for crowds.'

'Unless they're cheering you on, probably,' Allegra said quickly. 'And even then you try rocketing away from them towards the next slope.'

'Watch it, both of you,' Elise warned, coming between them. 'I don't want any of that.'

Psymon chuckled, as Allegra, Nate, Griff and Viggo followed Elise out into the chilly morning sunshine.

'Maybe you don't have a choice in it,' he said, almost to himself.

All through breakfast, Allegra felt like a high strung Thoroughbred, her insides prancing with non-stop anticipation.

The conversation over breakfast was loud and chatty, but she felt like she couldn't eat or say anything.

'You okay?' Nate was seated next to her, and now he placed a hand on her arm.

Allegra jerked back to reality.

'Um…yeah. Sort of.' She mumbled, and Nate smiled.

'Don't worry,' he said reassuringly. 'I was the same. Apart from the accident. I had to bust out of home to get to where I am now. Of course, coming from the cattle stations of Colorado didn't help a lot.'

Allegra, despite herself, became interested.

'Colorado? You mean, like, here? Real?' she asked, and Nate nodded.

'Yep. Earned my keep around the place, coz that's what my dad wanted. Thing was, he reckoned I was suited for the riding range inside of the Big Air slopes.'

They became engrossed in conversation, and even though Allegra had begun feeling the day was going badly, she was wrong.

Because it went mostly up hill from there.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

From Ground Floor Upward.

After breakfast, Elise ushered everyone out of the B+B and back into the mobile home, and everyone got ready for the trip into town.

This time, though, Zoe insisted on driving, but Nate firmly told her no. Moby offered, and then demanded, but Psymon ended up wrestling him to the tarmac. In the end, Viggo volunteered but Elise won by default.

And soon they were on the move. Very loudly.

'Lay off the freaking horn!' Zoe cried in exasperation.

Elise shrugged Viggo away from the steering wheels horn, and he backed away, still grinning. He had taken Nate's spot in the passenger's side, and he couldn't seem to keep his mitts off the horn.

'At last, peace,' Moby muttered from above, and Allegra looked up to where he was sprawled on his back on the bed.

'Not for long,' Psymon murmured, looking like he was trying to actually keep some of the last shreds of sanity inside his head as Griff sang to some Weird Al Yankovich song, badly out of tune and sounding like a strangled cow.

'_Enough_ of the constipation song,' Allegra yelled above Griff's voice as he launched into the second verse. Again.

'Everyone, be quiet for a moment or we'll get far too much attention!' Elise yelled, and everyone stopped. Allegra picked up on the vibe that if Elise had to yell, you shut up quickly.

'Right,' Elise continued more calmly. 'Just let me get into the nearest crash mall and Nate and I will go in and grab what we need.'

Everyone nodded, not daring to speak unless it made Elise's temper return in a flare.

And for once, Psymon didn't say anything.

_What a nice change, _Allegra thought from her place in front of the fridge.

They found a supermarket with underground parking, and soon Elise and Nate had headed inside for some supplies they might need on the trip.

Suddenly, Allegra's phone vibrated.

She tried ignoring it, but Moby gave her a sceptical look.

'Your pocket's vibrating,' he observed, his eyebrows raised.

Allegra sighed and took out her phone.

'I know. I've been trying to ignore it, but someone likes texting me a lot.'

She opened the phone to be greeted with the following message:

**To: Allegra Sauvagess**

**From: Mom**

**Subject:**

Sweetheart, please come home. We know about the episode at school yesterday, and we're worried sick about you. You haven't answered any of our or Tom's texts and we want you to come home now. We're not angry, just really disappointed and scared. Where are you? We can come and get you, but we only want to know you're okay.

Give us a text back, please Allegra.

Allegra rubbed the screen with her thumb, and then texted back:

**To: Mom**

**From: Big Al**

**Subject:**

I'm okay, Mom. I'm sorry I ran off, but I can't stay with you forever. I'm nearly 18, (lol) so I need more freedom than you're giving me. I'm safe, but I won't come back for a while. Don't worry about me, and tell the cops I don't want to play their games. I'll see you after winter.

She sent the text, and then turned off her phone, stowing it back in her pocket so that any more texts she received would go straight to the inbox.

'Who was that?' Viggo asked, his eyes curious.

'Mom. Wanting to know if I'm okay,' Allegra answered, and Psymon snorted.

'Your mom,' he said. 'She really babies you. Get a grip, Big Al. Break away from your parents and get a real life.'

There were those words again: get a grip.

Allegra frowned. Did she have a grip? Or did she have yet to get one?

Suddenly, a group of girls walked past the mobile home and looked in, only to glance away, sharing embarrassed giggles as they saw Viggo.

Viggo shrugged as Griff crowed at him.

'So what? I'm a chick magnet,' Viggo said flippantly. 'No biggie.'

'No biggie?' Psymon scoffed from where he hung upside down from the roof hatch, swaying slightly. 'Suuure.'

Just then, Elise and Nate returned, looking hurried and frazzled. If Elise could ever look frazzled.

'Let's move it,' she said quickly, getting into the drivers seat.

'How come?' Viggo sat up from the couch with interest.

'Coz we've got company.' Nate said, sliding onto the couch across from Viggo.

Suddenly, there was knocking at the windows, and Allegra looked up to the faces of several dozen news reporters, camera's, and so on.

Elise jammed the key into the ignition and growled the engine, causing most of the people to step back on instinct.

Psymon was on the roof, snarling and hurling violent abuse at the spectators.

Allegra could hear his shouts and jeers as Elise pulled the mobile home into action.

'Psymon, come down if you want to keep your head!' Griff called up the hatch, and Psymon came down slowly, still throwing verbal abuse at the reporters.

'Yeah, af-right!' he yelled, bearing his teeth. 'You keep yo camera's to yo'self, hear? Snooping nutter caskets of – '

'Psymon!'

Allegra grabbed the hem of Psymon's pants and hauled the rest of him through the hatch.

He immediately turned on her, and then calmed his nerve.

'Watch it, Big Al.' he said wryly.

'I'll keep it in mind.' She said sourly, and Griff came between them.

'We gotta go. Elise, I've got the back window.' He headed over to the back window to watch for other traffic, and then gave Elise a thumbs-up sign.

Elise reversed the vehicle jarringly, causing everyone in the back to fall in a heap, with Allegra on the bottom.

'Sorry,' Elise called back as she swerved through the underground parking lot, trying to avoid all civilians on the way.

'Gettoff!' Allegra said, trying to push Psymon off her.

'I would if there wasn't a _Bull_ on top of me.' He growled, twisting around to look at Nate, who had fallen on top of him.

'Not my fault.' Nate grumbled, looking up at the others. 'I've got Scanner, Grommett _and _the Royal Payne on me. Talk about a pile-up.'

Allegra winced as Psymon tried to kick at Nate, but instead got her in the shin.

'What about Moby?'

Griff was struggling to right himself, when the smooth, British voice of Moby came from the bed section.

'Since we're going for nicknames, Mr. Jones is staying out of harms way,' he said, talking like he was in third person.

'Yeah, yeah.' Zoe said irritably. Groaning, she pulled Griff to his feet, and then offered a hand to Viggo. 'Next time, Bombshell, a little less with the reverse gear and more with the cushioning.'

Allegra guessed that Bombshell was Elise, because she nodded and gave an angel's air-kiss to all of them through the rear-view mirror.

'Sorry about that. Anyone damage anything vital?'

'Like what, our brains?' Viggo asked, rubbing the side of his head gingerly.

Elise laughed, and then looked back at them again.

'No, I was thinking something more in the general direction of where the sun don't shine. But yeah, that too.'

Allegra groaned as Psymon rolled off her.

'Are we there yet?' Griff asked, a whine of impatience tinging his voice.

Nate shook his head as they reached the ground level.

'No. We still have to get to the airport.' He said, and Zoe stiffened.

'When does our flight leave?' she asked, and even Elise paused mid turn.

'In about, like, twenty minutes,' Psymon said, almost helpfully.

Everyone looked at each other, and there was only one voice that cut through the silence.

'Crap,' said Moby.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Customs

The group ditched the mobile home in the airport car park, and then filed through into the Departure section.

Once inside, Elise handed out the plane tickets.

Allegra took hers and read over it, and then Nate nudged her.

'Come on. Our flights ready.'

She followed them, her beanie pulled low over her eyes in case anyone there recognized her.

Someone bumped into her, and then grabbed her shoulder.

Allegra made the mistake of looking up into the face of a young guy probably several years older than her, maybe the same age as Psymon.

'Hey, you must be Allegra…Sourvejess?' he asked, holding her at arms length.

'Sauvagess,' Allegra immediately corrected his pronunciation. 'Uh – '

'Yeah, that. Hey, you look like you need a lift somewhere. I can offer you transport – '

'There you are, Allegra. I was looking everywhere for you, sweetheart. Sorry I'm so late – traffic and all.'

Suddenly, Psymon had materialized at Allegra's shoulder, slipping an arm around her waist, pulling her into a rock hard side. He gave her a sidelong glance that merely said: _play along or face the public._

Allegra got the message, and smiled sweetly up at Psymon.

'Oh – um, Jake. I didn't realize you'd come to see me off,' Allegra said, twining her hand in Psymon's. He smiled down at her sweetly and then sneered at the guy opposite.

'You got a problem, man?' Psymon snarled, and the young guy backed down.

'Hey, I didn't know…'

'Course you didn't,' Psymon let go of Allegra and got right up in the guy's face, catching the young man by the collar of his shirt. 'Coz you don't _think_.'

Allegra grabbed Psymon's arm, not wanting it to escalate into a knockdown fistfight that Psymon would undoubtedly win.

'Um…Jake, come on. I've got to go.' She said, dragging Psymon away from the young man, who regained his footing and then stumbled away.

'What was that about?' she hissed to Psymon as they rejoined the group, who were all giving them curious looks.

'Later.' Psymon shrugged, grabbing his ticket from the steward. Allegra could have sworn his face was tinged pink when Moby gave him a smooth whistle. Zoe, however, was glaring at both of them as they rejoined the group.

Elise ushered them through the barriers, and out to where the plane was waiting for them.

All of their luggage was loaded, and suddenly,

'Are all of you together?'

A burly security guard blocked their way, and Allegra saw Psymon's hands tighten into fists. Viggo put a hand of restraint on Psymon's shoulder, but Psymon shrugged him off, unclenching his hands a little. Which Allegra found more comforting.

'Oh, yeah,' Zoe said, standing up straight, trying to make herself look taller. 'Yeah. We're siblings.'

Nate shot Allegra a look, and Allegra struggled not to smile. Siblings? They were an unlikely bunch, and none of them looked alike.

The security guard picked up on this and gave Zoe a hard poke in the chest.

'Really?' he asked sarcastically. 'So why do you look so different from each other?'

Allegra already had an answer, so she stepped up beside Zoe.

'Our parents are missionaries. We're all adopted, but right now our mother and father are out preaching for those in need. We came from broken homes way back when as well.'

She smiled sweetly up at the security guard, and he looked them over again, thinking.

She could tell everyone was holding their breath, and then he shrugged and waved them through customs.

'All right. Pass, pass, pass.'

'Aw-right!' Griff said, slapping Allegra and Viggo a high-five each. 'Snowboarder's rule!'

'Yeah, but no more missionary stuff, all right?' Moby chipped in, and everyone else nodded.

'Brothers with the Grommett. I shudder to imagine.' Psymon grumbled, everyone laughed.

'Yep.' Griff grinned. 'I couldn't want a brother any more Canucki than you, _Jake_.'

The whole crowd erupted in laughter again as Psymon gave Griff a knuckle sandwich.


	13. Chapter 13

**Part Two:** _The Queen of Breakage_ Chapter 13

Flight. On a plane, That Is.

The plane trip was long and restless. From Virginia to The Rockies was a fair distance, and Allegra looked out of the window next to where she sat and gazed at the scenery flashing past below them.

The plane compartment itself wasn't like normal jets. It was more of a small living room squashed impossibly between the plane's walls. Very lavish and well suited, if you were someone like the President.

'Wow,' Allegra commented. 'Looks like we're _reeeal_ special.'

Nate sat opposite her, and Griff beside her. Viggo sat on Griff's other side, while Elise sat next to Nate and Moby next to her.

Zoe sat with her back to the window, chewing absently on a small bar of bubble-gum and gazing off into space.

Psymon, however, had taken to standing, even though there was a spare seat. The part of the plane they were in was cut off from everyone else, as Elise had reserved the back compartment for them.

Psymon tapped his fingers restlessly against his thigh, looking like he was itching to strangle something.

Viggo had his head bent over a sketchpad, his pencil moving skilfully and furiously over the paper's surface.

Griff was listening to his iPod, and sat fidgeting with the iPod's menu and song list for several minutes before deciding on a song.

Elise was dozing, her long blonde hair falling gently about her face. Nate had a laptop on his lap, and was typing at it furiously. He looked up and out the window on occasions, and sometimes looked up at the others to check on them.

Allegra sighed, casting her blue eyes over them.

Suddenly, Psymon broke the silence, making them all sit up, including Elise.

'That does it,' he muttered, pushing himself away from the wall and pacing over to the cooler to retrieve a drink. 'I gotta get outa here.'

Elise rubbed her eyes gently, and turned to Psymon.

'It's not long now. Honest. Just hang on for a bit.'

Everyone else didn't look hopeful, and Allegra also stood.

'I…um, I'll be back in a minute,' she said, not even sure where she was going, just as the voice of the pilot crackled over the loudspeaker.

'Could everyone please stay seated as we come into land, please. I repeat, as we come into land it would be advisable for all on board to fasten their seatbelts and stay seated until further notice.'

Allegra sighed, and flopped back into her seat. Zoe turned in her seat and looked out the window.

'Had no idea how close we were,' Nate said quietly as Griff switched off his iPod and Viggo stowed his sketchpad.

Elise looked smug.

'I told you so.' She said.

It took another half an hour to get off the plane, and then through customs.

Allegra's phone vibrated, and she pulled it from her pocket as they waited for their bags and luggage to come through.

It was from Tom.

**To: Big Al**

**From: Tom-Boy**

**Subject:**

Allegra, the jokz over. U can't go 2 The Rockies jst lyk dat. It wont b me hoos gonna get dun now. Its u. Plz, jst cum bac & we'll sort it out. Don't b a stuc bitch agn & jst cum bac. Plz, im sayin dis as a frnd. Ur gonna b sori wen ur M+D find out u reely ran off.

Allegra groaned, and Griff gave her a reassuring smile.

'It'll be okay.' He promised, and Allegra smiled back, and then texted:

**To: Tom-Boy**

**From: Big Al**

**Subject:**

No. U shood no betr than 2 thnk dat id jst cum hom lyk dat. Brickhead, ur jst mesin' evrytin . Y cant u jst keep 2 urself & pipe ? Im not cumin bac. M+D no about The Rockies, & I don't cair wot they thnk. Don't txt me agn.

Xxx Big Al.

Allegra closed her phone, and stuffed it back into her cargos pocket as Nate handed her her suitcase.

'Come on,' Moby led the way out, and they stood at the edge of the car park, their jackets zipped up against the colder wind.

Snowflakes were already drifting down onto the road, and as regular as clockwork, Allegra's phone vibrated insistently at her.

Sighing, she pulled it out and flipped it open, only to be greeted with the simple text:

**To: Big Al**

**From: Tom-Boy**

**Subject:**

Bitch.

**C u aftr da cops get u.**

Allegra swallowed, determined not to show the group that she was upset by Tom's text. Connor would have done this, wouldn't he? Now Allegra thought of him, she felt like this was the right thing to do.

A minivan pulled into the parking lot, and Elise scooped up her backpack.

'This is our ride. Come on,' she said, and everyone filed after her.

Elise slid open the back door, and the driver, a burly bloke with a thick moustache, looked back as they climbed in, and Psymon hopped up onto the roof, tired of being stuck inside.

'Hey,' the driver said, peering around to catch sight of Allegra. 'Have a nice flight?'


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The Lodge

The driver, who introduced himself as Dave, also turned out to be the manager at the lodge where the group would be staying.

'So,' Dave said conversationally. 'You've got to be Allegra Sauvagess.'

Allegra nodded. 'That's me.'

Dave had a scraggly beard and moustache, and Allegra immediately felt the kindness and friendliness radiating off him.

Griff had hopped in next to him, and then twisted back in his seat to look at everyone else.

'This is gonna be awesome, man!' he said excitedly, bouncing up and down in his seat.

'Yeah,' Zoe put in, leaning forward to tap Allegra's shoulder. 'You're going to be a huge hit.'

Allegra smiled to herself. Maybe this was the right thing to do.

She wondered about her parents, and how they would cope with her going away.

Nate swooped in and broke through her thoughts.

'Hey, Big Al,' he said, reaching over to her. 'We're nearly there.'

Dave pulled over on the side of the road.

'How would you guys like to snowboard down to the Lodge? Show Big Al here a bit of the country.'

Elise nodded.

'That'd be so awesome!' Griff cried, hopping out of the back. 'But, wait a minute. We don't have our snowboards.'

Everyone stopped, and Psymon leaned over the windshield of the van to look in, his expression one of curiosity and maniac confusion combined.

He tapped the windscreen twice, and Zoe gave a thumbs up signal.

'Don't worry. Dave packed them for us!' she said, reaching back and jerking a thumb at everyone's snowboards, which were piled neatly into the back.

'Aw-right!' Viggo cried, slapping Allegra and Griff a high five. 'Let's rock!'

Psymon flipped head over heels off the van roof, and opened the back door.

'We showing the country or what?' he asked as Griff grabbed at his Crusher board.

'Yep. See you later, Dave!' Elise pulled out the other snowboards and distributed them to everyone. 'At the Lodge!'

'At the Lodge,' Dave agreed, smiling at them from the rear-view mirror. 'See you guys there.'

Moby closed the back door, and Dave pulled off the curb, and drove away onto the snow-covered road.

Allegra hooked her board under one arm, and looked out over the curb.

Stretching below them was a shrubby, snow-blanketed countryside, and at the bottom of the steep slope, a little way off, stood a large manor house, surrounded by thick, snowy pine trees.

'Wow,' she breathed, and Moby nodded.

'Yep. That's the way we like it.' He said, and Nate stepped up beside them, kneeling to secure his feet into his footholds of his Bruiser snowboard, which the official, Mr Ruce, had brought back three days ago.

Allegra was strapping herself into her own snowboard when her phone vibrated in her pocket.

Sighing, she knew ignoring it wouldn't work, so she pulled it out and flipped it open.

'Hang on a sec,' she said, reading the most recent text message.

For once, it wasn't Tom or Mom or Dad. It was Damien.

**To: Big Al**

**From: Coach Damien**

**Subject:**

Hi, Big Al. How r u goin? Ur parntz r goin craZ bac here, but ill keep dem ocupied & ill do mi bst 2 reassure dem dat ur fine. They say dat u'v alredi sed dat ur not cumin hom until aftr wntr.

Look aftr urslf, & do aniting stupid. Im sayin dis as ur coach, so don't let me down. Plz.

Xxx Damien. q/-^p

Allegra wondered how Damien could be so laid back about the whole ordeal, and then, Nate looked over her shoulder and read the text.

He chuckled.

'Your coach actually set this whole thing up, but we'll fill you in on that later.' He said, and Allegra's eyes widened.

Damien had set her up? Her opened a new message and texted back:

**To: Coach Damien**

**From: Big Al**

**Subject:**

Thnkz, D. Im goin good. Plz tel M+D dat I dem & I promis 2 cum bac ASA I'v won gold. (Or tried 2!)

Im givin dis mi bst shot, so u mst cheer me on!

Txt u l8tr,

XOXOXOXOX, Big Al.: P :^)!

Allegra sent the text, and then caught Viggo's curious expression.

'What?' she asked, and his face quirked into a smile.

'Are we riding or what?' he replied, and Allegra grinned. Damien had done this for her, because he believed that she could do it.

Her Mom and Dad were going to be all right, because Allegra knew that they would believe Damien.

There was a lot of believing going on, and Allegra was slowly getting used to believing that she was really in The Rockies.

She looked at everyone surrounding her, Nate on his Bruiser board, Griff strapped into his Crusher, Viggo rubbing a hand on his Blizzard board, Elise astride her Surfer'sParade, Zoe flipping her Electrify boredly, Psymon fidgeting on his SkullFire – Allegra could recognize everyone's snowboard at a glance, it had paid off over the years.

She smiled evilly.

'All right,' she said, and everyone cheered. 'It's time to kick some serious butt.'

They hit the snow from about ten to fifteen meters up, propelled by the rock they had used to launch from with the help of some strong, snow-covered fern branches.

Nate had gone first, and Allegra watched himself settle onto the snow like a pro. Moby went next, and made it look far easier than it really was. Elise, in turn, went after him, and Psymon didn't wait until she had landed to take off himself, whopping and howling down the mountainside.

Griff and Viggo went on either side of Allegra to guide her, and they took off in unison.

Spinning through the air, Allegra pulled off a couple of tricks Damien had once shown her. They were tricks meant for a backcountry turf, not an in-door track or a marked out circuit.

She heard Griff yell to her, but his words were lost on the wind. Allegra hit the snow with Viggo just behind her, and Griff off to her left. He scooted closer and yelled,

'Hey, Allegra! How'dya like it _now_?'

Allegra laughed, and swerved to the right to avoid a looming shrub.

'It's pure ownage, man!' she shouted back, and Griff laughed back.

They soon came to the bottom of the slope, where Nate, Moby, Elise, Psymon, and Zoe were waiting for them.

Allegra braked to a stop, breathing hard from the exercise.

'Man!' Viggo cried as he came to a halt next to her. 'That was awesome dude!'

Zoe grinned and slapped Allegra a high-five.

'You rock, chick,' she commented, and Allegra smiled. 'Those were Backcountry manoeuvres! Totally hype!'

Even Moby looked smug with her performance, and then reached down to untie his feet.

'Come on,' Elise said, undoing her own. 'Since we don't have anymore propulsion, we're gonna have to walk the rest of the way.'

'No propulsion?' Psymon asked, spinning around on his board. 'You've gotta be kidding!'

'No, she's not,' Viggo pointed out, but Psymon cackled and took off, getting up speed from nowhere, and taking off towards the Lodge.

'Wow,' Allegra breathed. 'That was quick.'

Nate laughed, and then helped Griff to untangle his bootlaces from the footholds. 'He's always like that.'

'Yeah,' Moby sighed. 'Sketchy Psymon. Never judge a book by its cover. Especially his autobiography.'

Viggo gave Allegra a friendly punch on the shoulder.

'That's right,' he said, and Allegra smiled at him. 'But with Psymon, you can pretty much guess _his_ life story.'

'Yep,' Allegra said, watching as a recent layer of snow dripped from the nearby trees, spread from the cloud of snow that Psymon had kicked up in his wake. 'But then again, some people are like that.'

They all trudged along in silence until they reached the clearing, with the Lodge standing in the middle of the trees lined area.

Allegra paused as she reached the edge of the clearing, taking in the scene in front of her.

The Lodge, up close, looked like an old logger's hut that had been refurnished and built around to look like a manor house to impress guests.

She could already imagine what was inside: deer and bear heads stuffed and hung on plaques on the wall; a long, Viking-like dining table; busy kitchens, and a wireless Internet connection to top it off.

'Whatcha thinkin?' a voice startled her, coming from the pine branch next to her. Looking up at it, Psymon swung down in front of her, and she stepped back.

'Cut it out,' she snapped, frowning.

Psymon cackled. 'You guys are poster children for slow. I got better gigs to ride. The slopes, they call thy name,' he went on dramatically, hanging upside down and waving his arms around. The gelled spikes of his hair hanging down like they were stalactites.

'Whatever,' Allegra grabbed the end of the branch he was hanging from and wrenched it downwards.

Psymon lost his balance, and, swearing abuse, he fell and landed head first in the snow, flopping onto his front, getting a face full of snow.

Griff and Viggo, who were bringing up the rear, snorted and laughed as they moved past, and Allegra strode off to join them, leaving a dizzy Psymon to get up on his own.

'Now who's the poster child, Sketchy Psymon?' Nate called from the Lodge's porch, and Allegra turned back to see Psymon shaking snow out of his hair.

Elise was laughing, and at that moment, the front door burst open.

'You're back! Konichiwa!' cried a Japanese teenager as she threw herself at Elise. Elise caught her in a hug, and then let her go.

The Japanese girl went from person to person, hugging and welcoming. She took one look at Psymon, who was slinking up to the porch like a wounded cat, and moved on briskly.

Allegra suddenly found herself being hugged by a vibrant and bubbly blur of pigtails, pink-and-red jumpers, and a sweet Japanese face.

'Konichiwa!' the girl cried again, and Allegra quickly registered what she was saying from her Japanese lessons back in school. _Hello._

'Welcome to the Lodge!' the girl bubbled excitedly, her accent not quite as thick as her woolly jumper.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Kaori, Mac, And Greg

The Japanese-English girl, who introduced herself as Kaori Nishidake, herded Allegra inside.

Looking around the foyer of the Lodge, she took in the surroundings: a short corridor that branched off in four directions, one of which led up two flights of stairs, a shelf lining the hall with trophies proudly standing along it, gleaming gold or silver. They were all snowboarding trophies, so Allegra realized that she wasn't at the Arena anymore, where there was no real competition, or at the young snowboarder rallies that were held each winter.

This was as close to the Olympics as it got.

Allegra followed the group down the hallway, and when they branched off into the dining hall, Allegra nearly laughed.

Along the walls, there were the heads of reindeer, moose, and bears stuck onto plaques.

Swallowing, Allegra hoped they were fake.

Stretching in front of them was a dining table long enough to seat well over a dozen people, and along each side of the table and at both ends sat chairs, waiting to be used.

Around her, everyone was chatting excitedly, apart from Moby, who was moving quietly past the table.

Suddenly, Kaori was at Allegra's shoulder, grabbing her arm playfully and smiling up at her.

'It's so great to meet you!' Kaori said, her Japanese accent present, but not heavy and non-understandable.

'And you to,' Allegra grinned down at Kaori, as she was about two inches shorter than Allegra.

'Oh, you probably don't speak very much Japanese, but I can speak fairly good English. I hope we're going to be friends, Allegra-san.' Kaori said bubbly, and Allegra thought for a second, digging down into her school history and reaching some kind of Japanese phrase. Come to think of it, _any _Japanese phrase.

'Um…watashi wa seiza wa Ohijitsu desu?' she tried, and Kaori laughed.

'Oh! Well done! I like your efforts!' Kaori giggled, and Allegra smiled ruefully.

'I don't know Japanese that well,' she confessed, but Kaori shook her head.

'But you said that your star sign was Aries pretty well,' she pointed out, and this time, Allegra laughed.

Suddenly, Elise materialized at Allegra's shoulder, nudging her gently.

'Watch out for Kaori. She can be a little, well…_Japanese_ sometimes,' she said, and Allegra smiled as Kaori poked her tongue out at Elise, who smiled smugly at her before moving off.

'Allegra-san,' Kaori said, catching Allegra's attention again. 'Sukina supportsu wa nan desu ka?' _What's your favourite sport?_

'Um… snowboarding desu!' Allegra said quickly, and Kaori burst into laughter again.

'All right,' Allegra rolled up her sleeves. 'Kiraina nomimono desu ka?' _What's your least favourite drink? _

'Koo-hii desu!' Kaori giggled, and Nate came up beside Kaori.

'Okay, Kaori, rein it in,' he said, and Kaori giggled again.

'Leave us be! I'm having fun!' she said, and Nate laughed and shook his head.

'Oh well,' he said solemnly to Allegra. 'Can't win 'em all.'

Allegra grinned.

'So if you can't win 'em…' she started.

'Ride 'em!' Nate and Kaori finished with her.

Looking around as Kaori and Nate moved off, talking and laughing, Allegra took in more of her surroundings.

At one end of the hall, there was a stereo attached to the wall, CD player as well, and was playing a remix of "Snow ((Hey Oh))".

Suddenly, a boy who looked to be about her age came from of the doors that branched off the hall, and, going up to the stereo, changed the song.

He flipped through a handful of soundtracks, and finally settled on one from the Rouge Traders: Watching You.

He looked up to see Allegra, and then came over.

'Hey,' he said. 'You've gotta be Allegra. I'm Mac.'

Allegra smiled, taking in Mac's features. He wore a black, baggy hooded jumper, cargos and hiking boots. Around his neck dangled a pair of headphones, and the cord trailed down to the joined pocket of his jumper.

He had a laid back, cool air about him, and he gave her a lopsided smile as he extended his hand for her to shake.

'I hear you came from Virginia,' he said, and after Allegra nodded, he continued. 'I'm from New York, but then again it's almost the same thing.'

'I guess so,' Allegra agreed, just as an older man appeared, dressed casually in a coach's uniform.

He clapped his hands together once, and the whole room went silent as everyone turned to face him. Allegra wondered if he would be everyone's coach.

'All right, gang, listen up.' He began, and gestured for everyone to take a seat. 'We've got to get through this quickly so you lot can beat up some snow before the sun goes down.'

Everyone cheered and whopped around Allegra, and she cheered along with them. They all took a seat along each row, and Allegra found herself in the middle of Mac and Griff, facing Kaori, who was opposite her.

Mac gave Allegra a small nudge, and whispered,

'This is Greg. He's our all-time coach, and he also owns the Lodge. He's awesome when he's not ripping out his hair.'

Allegra studied Greg, who had hair that was thinning out and going grey. The wrinkles that creased his face showed his age, and Allegra guessed him to be in his early to mid sixties.

Something about the mental image of him pulling out his hair and going crazy made Allegra scoff slightly, but not enough to catch anyone's attention.

'So,' Greg said, taking a seat at the head of the table. 'As you all know, it shouldn't have taken seven of you to collect Miss Sauvagess, but you are here now and that's what matters. Allegra Sauvagess, we welcome you to the Lodge.'

Another round of whopping and clapping, and Allegra found herself blushing slightly.

Greg raised his hands for quiet, and silence settled around everyone once more as he continued.

'We'll have a guided tour for you in the morning, this tour including the snowboarding grounds, the boundaries, other rooms, and the overall circuit.' He said, looking at Allegra, and she nodded.

'Also, you will indeed be practising and will be competing for and in the SSX Conquer the Mountain Snowboarding Championships this year, like the rest of your team.'

Greg looked pointedly around at everyone else, and they all smiled and nodded knowingly.

'We hope to teach you how to snowboard like a demon, encourage others who make the effort to do the same for you, and above all, we'll show you how to win and be a successful snowboarder with sprouting sportsmanship.' He concluded, and this time, the cheering was deafening, and Psymon even jumped up onto his chair roaring.

'All right!' Greg shouted. 'Let's get settled down and then we'll snowboard!'


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Snow Jam – The Real Thing

Allegra pulled on her gloves, as the snow was real, not like the fake stuff back at the Arena.

Kaori had shown her to her dorm, which was adjoining to Kaori's, and she had immediately liked everything about the place.

Setting down her backpack and sitting on the bed, Allegra looked around her.

'Wow,' she said. 'This is awesome.'

'Isn't it?' Kaori asked excitedly. 'It's totally up to you what you put on your walls. I've got posters of Briareos Hecatonchires and Deunan Knute, anime characters of course, on my walls. Everyone says I should take them down coz they're childish, but the movie Appleseed is actually very grown up…'

Allegra listened to Kaori go on about Japan and how great it was to be able to speak English and Japanese. She got so excited, that she even threw in several Japanese words that Allegra couldn't decipher, so she just sat back and listened.

Finally, Mac stuck his head in the doorway, nodding his head to the music blasting from his headphones around his neck, and Griff appeared under him.

'Come on, Allegra, Kaori. We're going to Snow Jam!' Griff blurted before Mac could get a word in edgewise. Nate, however, who had just appeared behind Mac, took Griff by the scruff of his shirt and hauled him back.

'He's okay,' Mac said apologetically as Kaori headed into her own room to fetch her snowboard. 'Just…'

'Hyperactive! Sugar levels at 2000%!' Griff cried as Nate looked thoroughly exasperated, and then passed him off to Moby, who happened to walk past.

'Here,' Nate said, handing Griff to Moby, who gave him a blank look. 'Happy Birthday.'

Moby shrugged Griff off, and Griff jumped up onto the bed next to Allegra.

'Are ya comin? Are ya? Are ya?' he asked, bouncing up and down. Allegra laughed, and slid off the now crumpled doona.

'Yeah – all right.' She said, reaching for her Gript Ript+Snipt snowboard.

Kaori came back through the adjoining doorway; her SweetCompetition board tucked under one arm.

'Oh my God, Allegra-san!' she cried as she saw Allegra's board. 'A Spiderwork! Totally awesome!'

Nate laughed and came in to stand by the bed, which Griff had by now thoroughly un-made.

'Yeah. I guess everyone's got a rare board here, right Moby?' he looked back over his shoulder, to where Moby was leaning against the doorframe.

Moby straightened, his dark skin shining slightly in the light that poured in through Allegra's window.

'Yeah. Guess so,' he said shortly.

'Moby's got a BackstreetSkater.' Griff said quickly, and Allegra looked up sharply.

She had heard that no one had seen a BackstreetSkater snowboard in so long they had almost been forgotten and had gone out of production, after the world champion snowboarder Cherri Greene had had a fatal accident using her world famous BackstreetSkater.

Allegra had gotten a signed poster of Cherri Greene with her BackstreetSkater from an exhibition that she had begged her older brother Jacob, who was now had a job as a research scientist in Antarctica, to take her to when she was six.

Cherri had been doing a live autograph stand at the local mall, and when Allegra had gone up to her Cherri had asked:

'What would be the one thing you'd wish for if you had a wish?'

Being eight at the time, Allegra knew that Cherri expected her to say something like, "I wanna be like you". But instead, Allegra had smiled and replied,

'My own person. But a champion snowboarder, like you, but not.'

Cherri had smiled and said,

'I'm proud of you. Snowboarder's always persevere until they succeed in their goal.'

Thinking back now, Allegra remembered that she had brought the poster with her, just for good luck.

Cherri Greene had gotten the nickname "Jaffa" when she went snowboarding, because of her trademark outfit: a vibrant red jacket and black cargos. Since she had dark, chocolate brown skin, it had made sense to be called Jaffa, being red on the outside and dark on the inside.

Moby sighed heavily, showing that he was now very bored, and Griff jumped at him.

'Come on, Mr Jones, you've gotta come out with us when we hit the circuit! Please, Moby.' Griff bounced around him, still hyper.

'Maybe not today.' Moby replied, and Kaori looked offended.

'Why not?' she asked. 'You'd kick all our butts anyway.'

But Moby just shook his head, turned away, shrugged his way passed Mac, and walked off towards his own dorm.

'Well,' Allegra sighed. 'Are we going, or are we going?'

Kaori, Mac, Nate and Griff cheered, and they headed off to find Zoe, Elise, Viggo and Psymon.

As it turned out, everyone else was already waiting for them to come, and Allegra cast her eyes over the real, fast-laned Snow Jam.

Zoe, Elise, Viggo and Psymon were waiting for them in the barriers, and Allegra slipped into a free barrier between Viggo and Zoe.

'Now we'll see what you're really made of, freshman,' Psymon sneered at her, and she gave him a quick gesture, causing an eruption of laughter from everyone else.

'Freshman in your dreams!' Allegra said, gripping the bars of the barrier tightly. 'We'll see who's the freshman soon.'

'Ready?' Greg and the driver Dave were standing to one side of the barriers, ready to get into the nearby Osprey to follow the groups progress through the course.

Allegra, although it was her first time, led the group in the cheers, and Dave pulled out a red starting flag.

'On my Atomica,' Greg called, and everyone crouched low, ready to go.

'Get set,' everyone pulled back, ready to plough forward.

'Go!'

Allegra propelled herself forward, and swerved to miss Viggo as he came speeding along beside her.

'Hey Allegra!' he called, and she flicked a glance his way, mainly concentrating on the up coming snow ramp.

'How about being riding partners?' he asked, and Allegra laughed as she spun up into the air.

'I'll tell you later,' she replied, flipping over her head and back down onto the ground, full tilt.

To her right, Viggo was smoothly navigating his way across a snow bank, and to her left, Elise was coasting like a pro from between Zoe and Mac.

Behind her, she could hear Psymon cackling and suddenly, it was all too real:

Psymon, chopping into her path, and forcing her to swerve away. Allegra had a flash back of the accident.

_Coming down the second slope, racing towards the Big Break._

_She aimed her board more carefully at the snowboard jump, tensing her muscles for the leap._

_Suddenly, Psymon cut her of, darting ahead of her and cackling manically._

'_Woo! See ya later, Big Al!' he called over his shoulder._

_Her attention span tilted ever so slightly, so that she could follow with her eyes where Psymon had sped off._

_He shoved down with his feet, sending snow spraying all over Allegra._

No way, Allegra decided. He's not doing that again.

She pulled ahead of Griff, who had taken a short cut, and swooped in alongside Psymon.

'Hey, Sketchy!' she called, reaching down and sticking her gloved hand into the snow, feeling it pull her back, but not off balance as snow gathered quickly in her hand.

Psymon turned his head in time to see the snowball coming straight at his face, and the next thing he knew he was flat on his back, losing momentum and skidding to a stop, snow all though his clothes.

Allegra whopped and Viggo scooted up to her, casting a look back at Psymon, who looked like he didn't know what had hit him.

'Nice one!' he called, reaching over to slap Allegra a high five.

'Yep,' Allegra said as snow whipped her two plaits around her face. 'By the way, riding partners. You're on.'

The next ramp loomed, and Viggo veered off, away from Allegra to give her more room.

'See ya later, Big Al!' he called, and Allegra focused on the ramp, streamlining her board so her timing was more accurate for take off.

Suddenly, the new MCOMM transmitter-thing that Atomica had given her buzzed into life, Atomica's smooth broadcasting voice coming through it clearly.

**MCOMM FROM:** Atomica.

**SUBJECT: **Peak One, Here We Come…

**MESSAGE:**

_You're listening to EA Radio Big, and I'm your DJ for today, well, in fact, every day, but lets not go there. Crowds have been going wild about the arrival of all the new_ _snowboarding champs that have squeezed into this year's competition, and here are a few updates._

_Has anyone heard of the rumour flying around that Mac Fraser is getting too big for his britches? Well, let me tell you, I've just had a call from one of our crowd favourites Zoe Payne that she's more than happy to get Mac a new pair of britches – but she doesn't know what size he takes, or if he'll take them at all. She's not one to mess with, so if I were you, Mac, I'd be watching exactly what comes through my MCOMM message bank…and my wardrobe…_

Allegra snorted to herself as she thought of the way Mac had been parading around with his new snowboard, chuckled, and kept going.

About two minutes later, Allegra entered the large, looming pine trees.

She had lost sight of the others at the last ramp, and was convinced they'd already bypassed her and were speeding on without her.

Suddenly, there was a frustrated yell from ahead of her.

'Damn horse just threw a shoe.'

Looking up, Allegra saw Nate, getting back onto his Bruiser board, which had an image of a bucking horse and cowboy on the bottom of it.

'Need a farrier?' she called, scooting passed him and flashing him a wink.

'No,' he called. 'Just some way over the next log.'

Allegra returned her gaze to the jump ahead, and steeled herself for it. The last thing she heard from Nate was,

'Keep going! You'll win!'

This stumped her. She was in front? Allegra decided not to take her chances and wait for the others, and ploughed on, soon coming to the end of the trees and back into the open.

She crossed the bridge, flipping head over heels in an Uber move, one that Damien would be proud of, and realized that she was so close to the finish.

She passed through the flags with flourish, coming to a stop next to where Greg and Dave were standing, grinning their heads off.

'Well done!' Dave said, swallowing her in a tight embrace.

Allegra hugged him hard, and then turned around to Greg.

'Where…where is everyone?' she asked, out of breath. Her knees were shaking from the exercise, and the old muscles in her arms and legs and back were stretched, feeling at home with the snowboarding.

'Beat's us,' Greg said, just as Elise and Nate came head-to-head over the last rise. 'Well, here come these two now.'

Psymon came roaring from the snow bank behind them, yelling like a cretin, aiming for a high fourth place.

'Wow!' Elise cried as she skidded to a halt next to Allegra. 'That was cool, cowgirl.'

Allegra gave her a wink and a two-finger pistol gesture, which Elise returned.

Nate clapped Allegra on the shoulder.

'How long were you waiting for us?' he asked, and Allegra laughed as Psymon did a cartwheel through the end flags.

'About five seconds before you came over the rise.' She said truthfully, and looked back up in time to see Viggo and Griff speed over the rise together, and soon after that came Zoe, Mac and Kaori in unison.

Dave laughed as everyone came in, and pulled up.

There were cheers all round for Allegra, and then Greg raised the whistle that hung around his neck and blew hard.

Everyone turned to face him, and he held up the clipboard that he was holding.

Allegra saw it had a score sheet attached to it, and wondered how long she had taken to go through the course.

'Ladles and germs, we have a new record to be reckoned with,' Greg said, and Allegra, along with everyone else, held her breath.

'Allegra Sauvagess came in at six minutes point five six seconds!' he said, his voice rising to a yell as the cries from the snowboarder's around Allegra exploded like fireworks.

**MCOMM FROM: **Viggo

**SUBJECT:** I Have An Offer…**  
MESSAGE: **

_Man – Peak One's R+B is no fun without a little entertainment…so I've got an invite for you, Al. Come out to the train tracks on the Slopestyle and we'll set up a little surprise for Mac and whoever else decides to go down to the woods today…hahaha._


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Catch My Disease

Later that night, Allegra was exhausted.

The dinner they had had in the dining hall had been huge, and they had then also had a karaoke night, and they had all partied til they were high on fizzy drinks and disco lights and music.

The karaoke party had taken place in the huge old barn, which stood to one side of the Lodge, and had been rebuilt to actually look and be suitable for everyone.

Mac had been the DJ, taking on requests and playing several of his own mixes and remixes of CD's and albums.

Now, Allegra was sprawled on her bed, trying to keep up with what Griff, Viggo, Kaori and Mac were talking about.

She and Kaori had pushed back the dividing wall so that both rooms were joined, making the space bigger.

Griff, who was bouncing on Kaori's bed, was hiccuping every ten seconds, due to the amount of fizzy drinks he had had.

Viggo, however, was quieter, and had was sitting with his back against the wall, trying to deal with the over-long hair that flopped in front of his eyes.

Mac was in the recliner in Allegra's half of the room, earphones still dangling around his neck, talking quickly every time Griff couldn't manage to get a word in edgewise because of his hiccups.

Kaori had taken to lying flat out on her back on the floor between the beds, answering questions and talking along with Griff, Mac and Viggo.

Allegra nodded and replied when spoken to, but otherwise she kept more to herself, trying to keep her eyes open.

That was when her phone vibrated again.

Sighing, she pulled it out, and flipped it open to see the following text:

**To: Big Al**

**From: Tom-Boy**

**Subject:**

Do u no how mch grief u'v corzd ur M+D? Dey thnk ur gona break ur lg or sumfing. Jeez, jst cum bac, plz, Big Al. I wont ask u agn.

I dont care if u want big air or anyting. I want u bac hom safe, so plz cum bac. Ur coach woz ovr here 2day, & he sed dat u'd lft him & ur M+D a mesage. Sumtymz, ur a reel stuc bitch. I wish u'd cum bac. Plz do. xxxTom

Allegra realized that the room around her had gone silent, and everyone was watching her.

'What?' she asked, and Griff hiccuped.

'Who are you texting?' Viggo asked, and Allegra shrugged.

'Um…a friend.' She said, and opened a new message to send back.

**To: Tom-Boy**

**From: Big Al**

**Subject:**

I told u not 2 txt me agn. So y? Can't u take a hnt? God, Tom, leev me alne. Onestly, itz gettin old. Reely old.

I'm tryin 2 win, here, & ur doin nothin 4 me dat wood hlp. Jst fck off.

Bsides, wotz wif _u_ wontin me bac? Huh?

She sent the text, and closed the phone, turning off the vibrate and all sound.

Mac looked over her shoulder.

'By doing that you waste more power,' he commented.

'What?' Allegra had almost drifted off, and now his voice pulled her back to reality.

'If you let all your messages go to the message bank, it means you'll have to charge it up again every four hours.' He said, clicking off his iPod.

'Oh,' Allegra glared angrily down at her phone, and then pocketed it and stood. 'I'm going downstairs for a glass of water. Looks like you need one too, Griff.'

Griff shook his head.

'No I – _hic!_ – don't. I just need to – _hic!_ – sleep.' He mumbled, his earlier energy evaporating.

'I think that's a good idea for all of us. Come on, it's nearly midnight.' Kaori said, rolling onto her side and then standing up.

'I'll take you back to our dorm,' Viggo said, picking up Griff with amazing strength. Griff settled into Viggo's arms, and promptly fell asleep.

'Night, everyone,' he mumbled, and Viggo looked down at him.

He shrugged off Allegra's smile, and turned to the door.

'See you in the morning, guys,' he said gently, and Allegra held the door open for him. Suddenly, Mac was beside her once Viggo had disappeared down the hallway with Griff still in his arms.

'I'll come for a glass of water as well,' he said, and Allegra nodded.

'Back in a minute,' she said to Kaori, who was straightening out her bed.

Kaori nodded, and Allegra closed the door behind her.

When they got to the kitchen, Allegra switched on the light, bathing the Lodge's well-furnished kitchen in light.

Mac fetched two glasses, and handed one to her.

Going to the sink, Allegra filled her glass half-full, and then took a sip as Mac did the same.

'Some party, huh?' he asked, looking out the kitchen window that looked over the snow-covered valley that was illuminated by the moonlight that shone bright and strong.

'Yeah,' Allegra agreed, tipping the last of her water down the drain. Mac finished his, and they crept back out of the kitchen.

'Listen, Big Al?' Mac paused as they reached Allegra's door.

'Yeah?'

Mac shifted from foot to foot, as if nervous.

'Um, I just wanted you to know…I've got, um…' he said quietly, as to not wake anyone.

'What?' Allegra asked, wondering what this was about.

'I've got…um…M.S.' he mumbled, and Allegra almost reeled back. Mac had Multiple Sclerosis?

'Oh…how come?' Allegra couldn't think of anything else to say, and Mac shrugged.

'It was…something I was born with. Sorry to upset you, but I … I wanted you to know. That's all. Everyone does now.'

Allegra nodded. She understood his position, and she knew that if she herself had M.S, she would want to let the new kid in the joint know.

'That's okay,' she whispered, and Mac nodded.

'That's why I surround myself with music,' he said, and then flicked a glance down the hallway. 'Um…I'd better go. Good night.'

'Yeah,' Allegra said. 'Night.'

He turned, hands in pockets, and started to head down the hallway, but paused and turned back to her.

'You – you won't tell no one, will you?'

'Not if you don't want me to,' she replied easily, and he looked relieved.

'Okay – yeah, I mean, it's no real secret, but not everyone knows about it, that's all – they might think I'm schizo or something if they did.' He said, and she nodded, understanding.

'I get you,' she said. 'Night, Mac.'

'Night Al.'


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Officials On The Track

The next morning, Allegra was stiff all over.

Her whole body ached, between all of the snowboarding she had done yesterday, and the partying that night, her body was in agony.

She woke up in the early light of dawn, and, for a moment, just lay there, listening to the birds chirping outside her window.

Across the room, Kaori was still asleep, breathing regularly.

Allegra slipped from the soft bed beneath her, and winced as the ligaments in her legs stretched and complained.

Ignoring the stiff pain, she went over to her suitcase and dug out a clean white shirt and fresh khaki-coloured cargos.

Dressing quietly, she slipped downstairs, where Viggo was already sitting at the dining table, and a sketchpad in front of him.

'Morning,' he said, looking up to smile at Allegra.

'Hi,' she said. 'You look real bad.'

He did. There were shadows beneath his eyes, and his hair was messy and unbrushed.

'Yeah,' he sighed, leaning back in his chair. 'Griff is a tough little kid to settle down. As soon as we got to his room, he was trying to convince himself he was Cherri Greene.'

Allegra smiled, and tried to hold back a laugh.

Viggo continued.

'Anyway, once I'd managed to coax him off his windowsill he became homesick all of a sudden, and he began crying.'

'Crying?' this really surprised Allegra. Viggo looked up sharply.

'Yeah,' he said tersely. 'The poor kids growing up, and he had too much fizzy drink last night. Besides, his parents just got divorced.'

'Oh,' Allegra hadn't expected this, and seeing Viggo look so protective of Griff made her feel bad. 'I'm sorry…'

'No,' Viggo cut her off, his blonde hair hanging around his face. 'I shouldn't have been like that. I just…I love Griff like he's a little brother, even though he's one of our newbies. I just want to keep him safe. I don't have any siblings of my own. My parents always say they never have the time.'

Allegra was even more startled.

'Oh,' she said again, and then looked over at Viggo's sketchpad. 'So…you like art and drawing?'

Viggo smiled, his Swedish face turning upwards.

'Yeah,' he said, looking up at the paper in front of him. Allegra looked over his shoulder. The drawing was of a snowboarder, with vibrant copper hair that was plaited in two plaits; riding a Gript Ript+Snipt Spiderwork snowboard and doing an Uber move…

'Hey! That's me!' she cried, and Viggo nodded.

'Yep. I sketched it out while you were taking on Zoe and Elise yesterday.' He admitted.

'Its…really good,' Allegra said approvingly. 'Manga style, I like it.'

The drawing was, indeed, manga style, complete with the large, round blue eyes.

Viggo closed the sketchbook, and faced Allegra.

'You heading out already?' he asked, and Allegra shrugged, going over to the kitchen window, where she had looked with Mac last night.

'Maybe. Don't want to be the first out there,' she thought about Mac again, and how he'd told her about the M.S, and how worried he'd seemed when he'd asked her not to tell anyone.

Viggo laughed.

'Sorry, but Mac's beaten you to it.'

Allegra raised her eyebrows, looking out over the circuit that stretched out beneath the kitchen window, and, sure enough, Mac was already taking on one of the smaller practise pipes that was situated closer to the Lodge.

'He's an early riser,' she commented, and Viggo sighed.

'He's always up first. He's the first on the tracks in the morning's, and always the last the packed it all in at the end of the day. And wherever he is, he's always wearing those damn headphones, with his iPod going at full volume.'

'It's his…' Allegra began to explain, but caught herself. She didn't want to tell Viggo something that was either private to Mac or was something Viggo already knew.

'His M.S? Yeah, I know,' Viggo said, watching over Allegra's shoulder as Mac came up from the super-pipe, spinning head over heels, hands to his chest like a prayer, standing upright on his board before disappearing out view.

'Actually, his folks and coaches are here today to check out his skills. He has to pass a certain amount of tests, physical and mental, to see if he's still okay to snowboard.' Viggo added, and Allegra winced.

She knew what it was like, to have pressure on you from your parents and coach. She had put up with it for a year.

'I'm heading out to see him,' she said, and Viggo nodded.

'Okay, see you later,' he said, and waved her out the door.

**MCOMM FROM: **Griff

**SUBJECT: **Watch Yourself…

**MESSAGE:**

_Hey, Allegra! Watch you're back, because Mac's gonna try it out sometime! I heard from Viggo who got it from Zoe who listened in to one of Elise's conversations with Nate that Kaori had a crush on Mac, but Mac wasn't interested. Of course, that's big kid stuff, and I guess I'm not exactly ready for that kinda thing…*shiver ;P* Still, Viggo says that if he goes for ya, Scanner will be erasing Mac's near future…lol._

Allegra skidded down the snowy slope towards the adjudicator's station, where she found Greg, Dave, a middle-aged couple, and two coaches, one male, and one female.

Dave was chewing his fingernails, looking worried. Greg was staring straight ahead, the couple was huddled close together, and the coaches didn't say anything, only watching silently and stiffly.

'Morning, Dave,' Allegra whispered, slipping into the booth next to Dave. Dave turned to her, and smiled anxiously.

'Hello, there, Allegra,' he said, then casting worried looks out into the super-pipe where Mac was giving it his all. 'This isn't looking good for poor Mac.'

'I heard…about the M.S,' she said quietly, and Greg noticed her, and his old face cracked into a smile.

'Hello, Allegra,' he said openly, and the couple turned to her as well. The man stepped forward, and extended a hand.

'Morning, miss,' he said, and Allegra graciously shook his hand, and then the woman's, who smiled at Allegra. 'We're MacKenzie's parents.'

'Oh…Mac's?' Allegra nodded towards Mac, who was performing an Uber Tricky high in the air at that second.

'Yes, that's right.' Mac's mother said. 'I'm Mary, and this is Carl.'

Allegra nodded, and then one of the coaches blew a whistle. Mac looked up, and the coach gave him the signal to come in.

They all headed down to meet him at the edge of the track. Mac skidded to a halt, executing a perfect brake. He jogged up to them, his face lighting up as he saw Allegra standing next to Dave – he was obviously glad to have some support.

'Hey, Big Al,' he said easily, and she smiled.

'Morning, _MacKenzie,_' she said teasingly, and Mac blushed slightly.

'Yeah. That name,' he laughed, and then he turned to the coaches. 'How'd I do?'

The stiff, up-tight female gave him a long sigh, and then said,

'Well, your performance is down a couple of notches. Not as good as last time we came to see you. Frankly, MacKenzie, I don't think you should be competing this year. And not again, that is. Ever.'

Mac's face fell, and he scuffed at the snow.

'But…' he whispered, obviously crushed. 'This year was gonna be so big…'

'MacKenzie,' Mrs Fraser said sternly, and Mac gave her a downcast look. 'You know that if your coach thinks you should stop snowboarding, you should follow instructions.'

Allegra watched as Mac gave her a sad look, and remembered how in the hallway last night, how strangely he'd acted about his MS. And other times, how he'd been so full of life and ready to give everything his all, just for the sake of it.

This was the same guy, Allegra realized, not some copy or look-alike. This was Mac Fraser, the snowboarder with M.S, who would probably never snowboard again because of his illness.

'But, if Mac thinks he can still snowboard, maybe he can,' Allegra said suddenly, and Mac gave here a surprised, but hopeful look.

'I mean, look at me,' Allegra continued, extending her still bandaged hand. 'This isn't even close to what really happened, only a fraction of it. You honestly don't want to see the scars on my back or chest.'

'Maybe just your chest,' Mac said teasingly, and Allegra punched him on the shoulder as Mr Fraser gave him a horrified look.

'Whatever. And I'm still snowboarding. After the accident last year, which I know is a lot different than having Multiple Sclerosis, I'm still going. Besides, did you guys just _see _that Uber Tricky that Mac did? I know how to do it, but I've never actually achieved a full 360 like that before. If Mac can do that, then he can still snowboard.' Allegra said confidently, and Dave was at her shoulder, gently taking hold of her shoulders.

'You've got what it takes, Allegra, but maybe Mac just isn't up for it anymore.' Dave's voice held defeat, but that was when Greg spoke up.

'Actually, I think Allegra is right. Besides, Damien Foster hand picked MacKenzie right from the start, so maybe it would be better to have his consultancy first.'

_Damien Foster? _Allegra thought suddenly. Her coach! Damien, the one who had welcomed her into the Arena's ranks, was much bigger in the snowboarding society than she had ever guessed.

'Damien?' she asked, and Dave nodded.

'That's right.' He said, and Mac looked up, hope lighting his eyes again.

'Yeah! Damien would back me up, wouldn't he, Big Al?' he said hopefully, but the two coaches intervened before she could respond.

'Absolutely not,' said the female coach. 'It's most likely that Mr Foster is incredibly busy right now and doesn't have the time for youngsters like yourself, MacKenzie. Please, collect your belongings and meet your parents outside the front of the Lodge.'

Both coaches turned to Mr and Mrs Fraser, and nodded their heads graciously.

'Mr and Mrs Fraser, it's been a pleasure coaching your son for the time he was able to snowboard. We'll head off now.'

With that, they moved stiffly away, the air of stuck-upness still hanging in the air.

Mac blew a long, hard raspberry after them, and Mr Fraser stepped up next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder.

'Now, MacKenzie. They did their best for you. Please, it's no longer required for you to be here.' He said, and Mac's shoulders fell.

'Okay,' he said, and shouldered past Allegra sadly, trudging up towards the Lodge to get his stuff.

Allegra turned on the Fraser's, her eyes sparkling with anger.

'Why? Why is it so…so _important_ for Mac to give up snowboarding? For him it's…it's the ultimate celebration of everything worth celebrating in life. You take that away from him and you'll see a totally new Mac. A _worse_ Mac – a Mac that you don't even recognize.' She said angrily, and Mr and Mrs Fraser exchanged nervous glances.

Allegra ignored Dave as he tried to hold her back, and she ran up to the Lodge, after Mac.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Stay

'Mac!'

Allegra finally found his dorm, which was tucked away at the back of the second storey of the Lodge.

She burst into his room, and was immediately hit by the wave of music booming from the CD player by Mac's bed.

Mac paused the CD, and turned to her, his eyes sad and defeated.

'What?'

Allegra came in, and put a hand firmly on his arm.

'You're staying. I don't care what your coach's think, or what you're Mom and Dad think. You're staying here and you're competing.'

Mac gave her a surprised look, and then sank down onto the bed.

'I wish I had your enthusiasm to stand up to my folks, but you don't know what they're like. Honestly, Allegra…'

'Which is precisely why you've got to stay. The others had to basically _kidnap_ me from school, and then sneak back to my place to get my stuff before smuggling me out of the city. I'm like…contraband. Sort of. Come on, Mac, don't give up.' She sat beside him, and he smiled slightly.

'Allegra, it's so hard sometimes,' he confessed, and she found his hand, gently taking it into her own.

'It's…just that sometimes I get so dizzy, and then I feel kind of sick, like I can't stand still. Then it all falls apart, and I end up on the floor, throwing up and feeling so bad. But…it never happens when I'm snowboarding. It's like I'm part of the circuit, and…'

'That's because you _are_,' Allegra said firmly, and he looked up at her, and then stood.

'Thanks, Allegra. But I can't. Mom wants me to enrol in this boarding school…'

'Why is it _always_ a boarding school?' Allegra asked, frustrated. 'Come _on_. You aren't going anywhere. Greg and Dave are talking to your parents right now, anyway.'

She waved a hand out the window, and she watched as Mac looked out, seeing his parents and Greg and Dave talking together out in the snow.

'Oh,' he said, as Greg explained something and the Fraser's nodded along. 'Maybe…'

Allegra knew he would come round. Soon enough, anyway.

'Stay,' she whispered. 'Please.'

She remembered, that not so long ago, Tom had been asking her to come home, and she had said no. He had been begging her to stay. Now, she was doing her best – _almost_ begging Mac to stay with them.

Mac turned to her.

'I'll try.'

Allegra's face bloomed into a grin, and suddenly, Mac was grinning, too.

'Mac! Nooooo! You can't go!'

Griff charged into the room, and catapulted himself at Mac, nearly bowling him over.

He was burying his face into Mac's waist, sobbing big, baby-like sobs.

'Please don't go,' Griff mumbled, gripping to Mac tightly. 'You have to stay with us!'

Mac reached down and smoothed down the nine-year olds hair where it stood on end.

'I'm…' he stated, when suddenly, there was a call from the doorway and Elise poked her head in.

'Griff? Hey, come on, kid. Mac isn't leaving for nuthin. I told you, he's staying. Besides, without Mac, we wouldn't have ten finalists, would we?'

Mac, Allegra and Griff exchanged glances, Griff's hysteria gone.

'He's…not?' Griff asked, looking surprised.

'Course I'm not,' Mac said, laying a hand on Griff's narrow shoulder. 'I'm staying right here. It's too late to find anyone else to replace me, anyway.'

Allegra nodded.

'I guess I was lucky you guys found me, then.' She said, and Elise nodded.

'Yeah. Although it was originally going to be just Nate, Moby and me coming for you, but then Psymon decided to tag along, and so did Zoe and Viggo. Then, of course, Griff couldn't go for more than a day without seeing Viggo. So, it turned out the Mac and Kaori were the only ones who decided not to come.' Elise explained, and Allegra nodded. Then, Elise turned back to Griff.

'Come on, Grommett. You've got breakfast to finish. Let's go.'

Griff's face broke into a grin, and he bounced out of the room next to Elise. Mac and Allegra watched as they went down the hallway. Just before Elise and Griff got to the end, they saw Griff reach up and take Elise's slender hand in his own rather smaller and childlike one.

Elise looked down at him, and he looked up at her. Allegra thought that she saw a small smile flicker across Elise's face, and she squeezed Griff's hand gently.

They headed back downstairs, still holding hands.

Allegra turned to Mac, who was also watching them.

'Any kind of explanation?' she asked, and Mac shook his head, almost sadly.

'Not really,' Mac sighed, tossing his suitcases back into a corner. 'Only that when Griff's folks broke up, Elise was baby-sitting him at the time, so she knows what he's going through in reality. She's always been like a big sister to him, and Viggo's big brother.'

'Oh,' Allegra averted her gaze from the doorway, and then back again. 'I'd…um, better go and have some breakfast…you coming?'

Mac looked up at her and smiled.

'Yeah. I'll be there. See ya.'

'Yeah,' Allegra moved towards the door. 'See ya.'


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 Atomica

The day passed in a blur of tours, through the Lodge and surrounding areas.

Allegra was introduced to Atomica, the DJ for Radio Big, and the SSX managers and officials of the Conquer the Mountain competition.

Atomica was a laid-back disc jockey, and Allegra liked him immediately. He was cool, funny and totally with the schedule.

When Greg had opened the door to his office, Allegra had been hit with the instant and overpowering smell of coffee.

'Atomica!' Greg barked, and Atomica swivelled around in his swivel chair to face them, eyebrows raised and headphones still clapped over his ears.

'Yo?' he said, switching off the volume. 'Make it quick, I've got a radio to get back to –'

That's when he caught sight of Allegra, and he immediately brightened.

'Oh, just hang tight a tick. I'll hang this wire with Nick down the line for a while, and I'll be free.'

He turned back to the console in front of him, and Greg gestured for Allegra to sit down in one of the other chairs in the room quietly.

Allegra listened as Atomica switched from casual, laid-back dude with headphones to a smooth, broadcasting guy with all the stuff.

'Yo, peeps. You're listening to Radio Big. How's everyone hangin? I mean seriously, with all the fuss about the SSX finals coming up. You know what really sucks about it though? There's just not enough music. This is a little fave of mine, and also a request from our good friend "Mr" Moby Jones. This is Atomica, and this song is Jerk it Out, by the Caesars' Palace. After this, you'll hang for a while with Nick the Prick, and his own views on the SSX racing. Keep hangin, peeps.'

He ended, whipped off the headphones, and stood up to greet them properly.

'So,' he said, shaking Allegra's hand warmly. 'You're Allegra Sauvagess. The Big Al of Virginia. Great to have you.'

Allegra smiled, returning the shake.

'Only better to be here,' she retorted, and Greg laughed.

'All right, chit-chat later,' he said shortly. 'Atomica, I want you to give Allegra an intro to the listeners tonight while my group takes on the Metro City Breakdown. Any problems with that?'

Atomica looked up eagerly.

'No probs, man. It'll be all cool. And it'll get a heap more listeners on the show as well. Nope, I'm totally cool with that, Gregory.'

Greg fumed silently, and Allegra smiled.

'Gregory?' she chuckled, and Greg turned on Atomica.

'Say my name again in front of a girl,' he growled, and Atomica backed down slightly, grinning his head off. 'And your tongue goes down that microphone. Unpleasantly.'

Allegra smirked behind Greg's back, and Atomica chortled.

'Gotcha, chief,' he said, and Greg gave him a quick, annoyed glance.

'I'll leave you to check out the place here at Radio Big stadium with Atomica for a while,' Greg said, turning to Allegra, and Allegra nodded.

'Good by me,' she said flippantly. 'I'll be fine.'

Atomica scoffed.

'Fine?' he asked. 'How can you be fine around me? I'm, like, somebody _no one's_ fine with. I just hang, and so does my show.'

Greg sighed, and then left.

Atomica turned back to the board in front of him, motioning for Allegra to come up beside him.

'Here,' he said. 'I'll give you an intro.'


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 Metro City Breakdown

'Alright, gang, listen up.' Greg commanded, twisting around to look back at everyone.

They were all crammed into the minivan, with Dave at the wheel, and Greg in the passenger seat next to him.

Even Atomica had hitched a ride with them, as his radio setup was in the same starting stadium overlooking the finishing line.

They all stopped talking amongst themselves and turned to face Greg.

He took a deep breath.

'Okay. You guys know what they expect of you, so what are you going to do?'

'Get out there and give them our best!' they all cheered, including Allegra, who was seated next to Mac.

To her right, across the aisle, Atomica gave her a thumbs up. Behind her, Psymon was doing an imitation of Viggo, pretending to be nervous and just making Viggo more so. Viggo was sitting next to Griff, who was bouncing on the spot in the seat across the aisle from Zoe and Elise, who were talking about something to do with boys.

Obviously, Allegra observed, Zoe and Elise shared different views about boys, and Allegra was leaning towards Zoe's point of view.

The sort of, "boys are there to make idiots of themselves, and make us look good," was Zoe's point of view, whereas Elise's was a little more…well, energetic.

Kaori and Nate were exchanging views on other sports, and why snowboarding wasn't in the Olympics. Allegra looked up through the roof hatch and saw Moby lying face up on the roof. With Greg's approval.

It was about six in the evening, and they had two hours to get ready for the Metro City Breakdown circuit before the tracks lights were lit and the streets were closed. Snow had fallen earlier in the day, and it crunched beneath the wheels of the minivan as it pulled into the parking lot.

Everyone piled out, and took their snowboards from the rack on the top of the van.

'Yahoo!' Viggo whooped, doing a back flip into the snow. 'This is gonna ROCK!'

It as already getting dark, and Allegra looked around.

The lights of Metro City were already beginning to shine, and as night fell, the stadium seemed to rise out of the darkness; its floodlight's shining brightly.

'Come on, guys,' Greg began herding everyone over to the starting stadium, and they all made their way up.

When they reached the top, Allegra heard a deafening roar of cheers go up around her, and saw that all around the stadium were huge pan-out TV screens, broadcasting live footage of the SSX team.

Greg handed out lightweight vests that kept count of the riders' score, Uber and timer. Allegra pulled hers over her head, and then swept her plaits back over her shoulder as Elise nudged her.

'Don't look now,' Elise said, and Allegra looked out to where she pointed.

She saw herself looking stunned and almost blinded, and then felt Griff tug at her shirt.

'Smile,' he grinned. 'You're on Candid Camera.'

Elise pulled up on Allegra's other side, and nudged her on the shoulder.

'Ready, Big Al?' she asked, and Allegra nodded, feeling the swell of competition build up inside her like a wave getting ready to break.

Nate was suddenly behind her.

'Nervous?'

Allegra swallowed, watching Elise go over to the bench to strap herself in.

'It's…so big,' she murmured, and Nate chuckled.

'Yep. And it just gets even bigger.'

Then, Atomica's smooth broadcasters voice came over the radio.

'You're tuned into Radio Big, and I'm your DJ for tonight, known fondly as Atomica. I mean, what _were_ my parents _thinking_ when they named me that? I don't know, but what I do know is that we've got a special guest with us here for this years SSX Championships. For those who can't guess, I'll give you a hint or two: she's wild. She's back on the board, and she's survived one of the worst accidents in snowboarding history. No, sorry guys, we didn't reincarnate Cherri Greene – ooh, ouch, sorry Moby – but please welcome with a huge round of applause Allegra Sauvagess!'

Allegra found herself seeing a dazed image of herself on the huge screen across the dark street from her, maximized to fit the huge screen.

Suddenly, a burst of clapping came from everywhere, and cheers, whoops, and whistles erupted all around Allegra.

Feeling suddenly energetic and pumped, she gave an unholy grin and took up a place in the barriers between Griff and Kaori.

Griff gave her a thumbs-up from behind his snow goggles, and when she turned to Kaori, Kaori smiled at her and said,

'Good luck out there. We all need it.'

Allegra nodded, and then faced forward. The counter was timing down, and then the whistle blew.

She shoved off the barriers hard, watching as the first ramp swooped up beneath her. Zipping off it and into the air like a plane from take-off, Allegra twisted in a Backside 360 Inverted.

As she hit the ground, Allegra pulled ahead, even though she had absolutely no idea where she was going.

Clamping her jaw shut, she ploughed ahead, just to see where the track took her. Her MCOMM buzzed into life. It was Elise.

**MCOMM FROM: **Elise

**SUBJECT: **I Need Some Info…

**MESSAGE:**

_I heard something about you taking on Kaori in the Super Pipe…are you selling tickets? Coz just in case you don't know, Kaori is like, THE BEST when it comes to the Super Pipe…and the show should be good. So…gimme the details, cowgirl! The when! The where! (Well, the Junction, of course). The results! The … the everything!_

Several minutes later, Allegra crashed through the plastic-glass off-limits sign, following the track in front of her.

She swerved to miss the large water tanks that dotted the snow, and then headed for the next up coming ramp.

Spinning through the air, she glanced down at her chest to check the monitor. According the monitor, she was in second place, with Elise ahead of her by about one hundred feet.

She could see the flash of white as Elise flipped out into a Frontside half-cab melon grab, and Allegra soared after her.

Getting up onto some railing, she heard a thump from behind her.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Psymon coming in fast from on top of a building, landing haphazardly in the snow, but still on his feet. How he got up on the building in the first place was anyone's guess, so Allegra clamped down on it and ploughed on, determined to stay ahead.

'Whoa! Keep your head on!' Allegra cried as Psymon managed to flip over her head. He grinned at her and went into a Backwards Style, sliding backwards without watching where he was going.

'Save your breath for breathing, Al, you might need it!' he retorted, and Allegra's eyes sparkled with sudden realization when she saw what was coming up.

'Don't look, Sketchy,' she said, smiling evilly. 'There's a building behind you.'

Psymon's devilish expression faded as he spun around on his board, before having to veer off wildly to avoid hitting the concrete building.

'I get you for that one!' he called as he back-pedalled furiously for control over his board, only to flip it on its end, causing him to go flying from the footholds and down the slope. 'Ow, ow, ow!'

Allegra laughed at him as she sailed by, heading straight towards the finish.

She saw Elise enter the final pipe, and followed her lead.

'Hey, Bombshell! Bangin' through!'

Elise looked behind her as Allegra came roaring up.

'Don't come so close!' Elise cried, trying to stay in control of her board. 'It's dangerous!'

Allegra grinned.

'Tell that to Psymon! Maybe you'll have better luck than me!' she answered, flipping her board up right and grabbing one of the railing's that ran horizontal across the top of the pipe above them, swinging around twice before letting go.

Rocketing through the air, Allegra soared over Elise's head, and the monitor on her chest bleeped. She was now in first place, and the finishing posts were getting closer.

Whizzing between the flags and into the finishers stadium, Allegra pulled to a stop, feeling the old muscles in her back and shoulder's tighten and flex as she raised her arms above her head as the crowd roared and cheered.

Suddenly, Elise was next to her, catching hold of her and swinging her around. Allegra and Elise fell into the snow laughing, each one trying to get the better of the other.

'KOOKA MUNG – GAAAAAAAAAAAA!'

An incredibly heavy heap tumbled on top of them, and Allegra caught the distinct smell of Psymon's aftershave.

'I gotcha! I gotcha!' he cackled evilly, and Elise wrenched her arm around and thumped him.

'Pile up!'

'Gang way, people!'

Next, the heap became heavier as Viggo and Griff flopped down on top of them, soon to be joined by Zoe, Nate and Kaori.

Mac and Moby coasted to a clear stop a few feet away, laughing at the others as they all struggled to get up, but only getting tangled in each other's legs, arms and snowboards.

'Ow! Get off my hair, Grommett!' Elise cried, trying to yank her long blonde pigtail from underneath Griff's boot. He stepped off her hair, and then Viggo tried to shove himself off Psymon, but Nate fell back down on top of him.

'Everyone! Please, be more civilized!'

Atomica's smooth voice crackled over the loudspeaker, and they all laughed.

'Talk about a Breakdown!' Allegra cried, rolling out from beneath Zoe and Kaori. 'That was awesome!'

**MCOMM FROM: **Nate

**SUBJECT: **Congrats.**  
MESSAGE: **

_Well wouldn't that rot your socks…well done on your Metro City Breakdown victory, Big Al, but be warned…you're not going to stand a chance on Peak Two. I take pride in roughing it tight in the mountains, so anything like the Ruthless Ridge should be a piece of cake. Atomica, JP& I are going for a fly-by visit tomorrow. Interested in seeing what fate has for you?_


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Getting The Hang Of It…

Early that morning, as in, _really_ early, there was a soft knock on Allegra's door.

She sat up blearily, thankful that the sliding door between her room and Kaori's was closed.

Tossing off her doona, she stumbled over to her door.

Mac was waiting outside.

'Wha…Mac, it's too early. What is it?' she asked blearily, and Mac smiled, looking alive and awake.

'Come on, Big Al,' he whispered, beckoning her out. 'It snowed last night and the view is incredible.'

'You got me up for _that?_' she asked, her face splitting into a grin. 'Aw, Geez… Mac – '

'Please, Allegra,' Mac said quietly, glancing over his shoulder to see if Psymon was awake in the room across from Allegra's. 'I wouldn't ask you if you wouldn't want to see it.'

Allegra sighed.

'Okay. I'll be there in five.' Her MCOMM was buzzing again.

**MCOMM FROM: **Elise

**SUBJECT: **Read The 1st Word Of The Message…

**MESSAGE: **

_WHHHAAAAT? The Super Pipe challenge with Kaori was cancelled? Aw…that's too bad; coz JP and I were counting on our newbie (i.e., YOU) to bring Kaori off her soapbox a little. I mean, come on. A sophomore girl letting down a newbie on a challenge just because her e-mail screwed up…that's pretty lame. Huh. And I thought the Japanese were the SMART ones, with all the latest technology and everything… man, what a let down._

Five minutes later, Allegra came quietly down the stairs, her snowboarding boots making dull _thumps! _as she stepped on the stairs gently.

Mac was waiting her in the kitchen; his snowboard tucked under one arm.

Allegra took her own Spiderwork down from the rack, and then silently, the two of them went out the front door, being careful not to make any noise.

Once out in the snow, Allegra knew what Mac meant.

'Wow,' she breathed, stopping to watch droplets of water drip off snow-layered branches, the water glistening in the sunlight. 'It's…'

'Come on,' Mac said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the Super Pipe. 'It just gets better.'

They ran side by side around the Super Pipe, and out to where the land dropped away into a deep valley where the grass met the snow as it slipped to the bottom of the slope.

Beyond the valley stretched Peak Two and Three, where Allegra would have to use all of her skill to get through the courses up there.

The bright, early morning sun peeked between the gaps of Peak Two and Peak Three, shining crisply into Allegra's stunned eyes.

For a moment she stood speechless, and Mac let go of her hand, also taking in the awesome scene in front of them.

'Isn't it awesome?' he whispered, and Allegra could barely even nod.

'Yeah…' she breathed, and suddenly, she turned to Mac and threw her arms around him.

He hugged her back hard, and Allegra took a small step back after a moment so she could look into his face.

'It's…perfect,' she whispered, and Mac grinned.

'I told you so,' he said, and Allegra laughed, letting go of him and stepping away from him.

'Thanks, Mac,' Allegra said, looking back out towards the rising sun. 'It was really worth it.'

Mac smiled, and then bent down to strap his feet into his snowboard.

'It'll be our secret, right?' he asked. 'And now, I'm going to kick your butt!'

He pushed off from a crouch before Allegra even had a chance to strap herself in, and he was hurtling away down the side of the slope like a flash.

'Oh no you don't!' Allegra called, haphazardly strapping in her own feet before taking a starting leap.

Catching up to him, she reached down and scooped up some snow into her hand, only to feel a snowball hit her in the face.

She spun sideways, not losing control of the snowboard but having to regain her balance quickly, and then heard Mac's maniac laughing.

'Gotcha!' he yelled, his Multiple Sclerosis temporarily forgotten.

Allegra groaned, and then zoomed after him, throwing her own snowball at him. It hit him in the back of the head, and he did a front flip, landing face first in the snow.

'Hey!' he cried as she swooped around him. He was laughing, and so was Allegra.

'Who got whom now?' she retorted shortly, scooting out of his range as he got back on his feet.

'I'm gonna getcha!' Mac cried as Allegra reached the bottom of the slope where the snow met the grass.

'No you're not!' she yelled, only to have to duck out of the way as he came to a sudden stop next to her, spraying snow all over her.

Once they had stepped free of their footholds, they sank down onto the damp grass, breathing hard but happy.

'You didn't get me,' Allegra commented as they watched the sun rise higher.

Mac shrugged. 'I will in my own time. When you're least expecting it, I'll creep up on ya and scare the freakin' daylight's out of ya.'

Allegra laughed.

'Yeah. Dream on.'

'I'm kind of getting the hang of it.' He said, and Allegra shot him a confused glance and a frown.

'What do you mean?'

Mac leaned back and plucked a couple of strands of grass from the ground, letting them fly away in the gentle breeze.

'Getting the hang of dreaming. You know, about one day waking up without the M.S, or …you know, getting a girlfriend. Stuff like that. No bedtime limits, no grown-ups telling me what to do.'

Allegra smiled.

'Yeah. In some cases, so am I.'


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 Time Flies When You Have Fun – Sort Of.

Over the next two months, Allegra and the others practised the courses on Peak One, including the Happiness in the Backcountry, Disfunktion Junction, the Super Pipe, and Allegra's favourite, the R+B Slopestyle.

The riders had been assigned instructors, but mostly, they ignored everything they said and went ahead without them.

Allegra's instructor had introduced himself as Jamie Fretton, and Allegra had immediately condemned him as "a pure no-go".

He was loud, rude, and constantly telling Allegra to be tighter when she was riding. But for Allegra, the looser style of riding was more preferable, because it gave her more options in the tricks range.

Although the lessons were separate, stories of the training sessions wove their ways among the SSX group, and Allegra loved the one of Psymon and his instructor, and how he had reduced his instructor to tears within the first ten minutes of the first training session.

After the sessions, Mac would always hit the CD players to full volume, as he couldn't stand the way his instructor treated him.

Zoe had head butted, punched, wrestled and dacked her mentor so many times Allegra had run out of fingers to count the incident's on; Nate had just about slept through every lecture given by his instructor; and Griff had his own coach running around in circles just trying to keep up with Griff's hyper-activeness.

Even Kaori got in on the act. She chattered on and on to her coach, keeping him from telling her anything even slightly useful, and Kaori would then go and do the tricks he wanted her to do correctly her own way. This included stuffing them up, making it look as if she was going to crash, and coming to a stop so close to her coach that he wet his pants in public.

It seemed that the only ones learning anything were Elise, Viggo and Moby. Even though Moby only listened to the parts he wanted to and then did the rest all wrong, he was an exception.

The first of the competitions loomed, and Allegra didn't bother with being nervous; she simply took on every circuit they threw at her.

Allegra came in first for several of the events, including the Metro City Breakdown, the Snow Jam, the R+B Slopestyle event, the Junction, and the backcountry Happiness. The only event that she came second in was the Crowsnest, which was won by Moby.

This didn't ruffle Allegra, as she knew that she had a stellar chance for getting the Gravitude award for Peak One.

On the night after the last competition for Peak One, Greg called an emergency meeting.

Everyone was gathered in the Hall, looking curious and wondering what was going on.

Greg blew his whistle once for silence, and everyone stopped speaking all at once to look up at him. He sat at the head of the table, with Dave on his left hand side.

'Right,' Greg began, taking a deep breath. Viggo gave Allegra a little nudge in the ribs, catching her attention for a moment.

'This should be good,' he whispered, and Allegra grinned.

'As you all know,' Greg said, casting his eyes around the table, looking at each and everyone seated. 'Tomorrow you all graduate up to Peak Two. I am glad to say this because even though some of your methods have been a little wild, _stop smiling, Zoe,_ you have worked hard to get there.'

Everyone turned to Zoe, who was snickering. They all knew that out of all of them, she had caused the most trouble with her instructor.

'Anyway,' Greg continued, drawing the group's attention back to the head of the table within seconds. 'You will, however, be getting another coach when you reach Peak Two. As I could not arrange to have the separate coaches this time around you will be having group training sessions, instead of individual ones.'

Viggo and Griff slapped high five over the table, and Allegra knew they were already devising plans on how to piss off this new instructor.

'But in any case, you must show at least some respect for your new coach.' Greg said seriously. 'She won't take any childish nonsense from any of you. Got it?'

Everyone nodded sincerely, but Allegra wondered if anyone really meant it. She knew that she didn't.

'Right,' Greg concluded, standing up. 'I wish you all good luck. Dave will fill you in on the details of the accessories that you will accumulate and be able to buy up on Peak Two, but for now I suggest you all rest up well. You won't be riding tomorrow, only getting to know the town setup around you. Good luck guys. Make me proud.'

The group around the table cheered and whopped, slapping high fives and laughing. Allegra wondered who the new coach would be.

She didn't have to wait too long.

From the side door, a woman who looked to be about thirty-five or so stepped out. She had long blonde hair like Elise, and she looked similar in the facial features and body structure. Allegra wondered if she was Canadian as well.

'Right,' she began with a heavy Canadian accent, confirming Allegra's suspicions. 'I should think that we should get to know each other. And some of you may already know me. My name is Marisol, and I'm Elise's older cousin.'

Allegra saw Elise's jaw drop, and she didn't look impressed at all.

**MCOMM FROM: **Nate

**SUBJECT: **How Do We Get Rid Of Her?**  
MESSAGE: **

_Wassup with the new instructor, Marisol? She's weird and creepy…enough to keep even Zoe on her toes. How can we come up with a way to get rid of her? Lol…we must be like…the WORST snowboarding team in history! Hahahahahaha!_

_Help device a plan to hatch against the evil bitch Marisol! Join us or die! Together we unite in this time of trial, setting aside our differences and taking up arms against this potentially deadly foe … hell, even Mac's joining The Haters Of Marisol Jennings club…_


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Marisol.

'Spill,' Zoe said. 'How do we get rid of her?'

They were all gathered in Elise room, and it hardly held all of them.

Elise thought for a moment, and Allegra was already devising a plan inside her head.

'Well,' Elise began slowly. 'We could always just play down-right dirty tricks on her, but I think I'll leave that to you guys.'

She nodded to Griff, Mac, Viggo, Allegra, Nate, Kaori, Psymon and Kaori.

'Why us?' Kaori asked, folding her arms across her chest. 'What's so special about you that keeps you from helping us out?'

'Yeah. She's right. For once.' Psymon chuckled from Elise's closet, where he dangled upside down with his feet hooked over the top of the closet.

Kaori shot him a sour look, and Mac piped up.

'I think that you could have a part in this too,' he said, nodding at Elise. 'You could be like…the planner of what we do, and we could carry out the plans.'

'Yeah!' said Nate, getting into the swing of things. 'We could like…mess up her car or something. Nick her hair dryer.'

Allegra grinned, and Zoe pulled out a piece of paper from the desk next to where she sat.

'All righty,' Zoe said, searching for a pencil. 'We can make a list, starting with small things, which Elise can think up, and then we'll move on to larger things, stuff that Mac, Griff, Allegra, Psymon and me can think of.'

'What about me?' Moby asked from the windowsill. 'I want her out as much as you guys.'

Allegra thought for a moment.

'What if…' she began, thinking hard. Then she jumped up, an idea blooming in her brain. 'Wait here. I'll be right back.'

'Are you nuts?'

'No.'

Dave raised his eyebrows, so Allegra tried another tack.

'Please, Dave. I've got to see the list. The one from the sponsors.'

Dave set down his newspaper and swung his feet off the desk where they had been propped up, leaning forward in his desk chair.

'Now listen here, Allegra. I understand that you're keen on getting those new accessories from your victory, but you've got to understand that they aren't just for anybody. No matter who you let look at them or fiddle with them, they're your responsibility. People spend money getting those things, and you know I've had to check how much stuff each of you can get.' He said seriously, looking Allegra directly in the eye.

'I know,' she said breathlessly. 'But please, Dave, it's…it's for stuff that we're planning.'

Dave eyed her suspiciously.

'You better not be planning anything childish, Allegra. You're nearly eighteen, and you should know better.'

Allegra rolled her eyes.

'Come on, Dave. One peek? Just one little look?' she wasn't used to begging, but this was a last resort.

'No.' Dave said, as if the decision was final. 'You'll have to wait until tomorrow when we go to pick them up. Besides, whatever happened to the element of surprise?'

Allegra sighed heavily, casting her eyes to the ceiling and digging deep into her well of patience.

'That's exactly why we need to see the list. Please, please, _please_, Dave.' She whined, making puppy eyes at Dave.

He sighed, as if trying to reconsider but not liking his options. Finally, though, he asked,

'What's it for?'

Allegra leaned in close, glancing around to see the door to make sure it was shut.

'Between you and me,' she said slyly. 'You know the new coach? Elise's damn older cousin Marisol? She's an asshole and we want her _out_.'

Dave's eyes widened.

'But Allegra, you haven't even seen how she teaches. Give her a chance.'

Allegra scoffed.

'A chance? We spend one minute with her and she's already spreading ground rules around like wet cement! She's a pain in the butt, she insists on "going to bed early", she says that light's have to be out by eight-thirty, and she treats everyone like their two-year-olds who've never seen a clock before.'

Dave sighed, shaking his head.

'I'm sorry Allegra. But whatever you want to see the list for to try to get Marisol out of here is stupid and inappropriate.'

'Inappropriate?' Allegra raged. 'You should see the amount of suitcases she needs just for a two month break while we train up for Peak Two! Did you _see_ how many suitcases she had? _Five_! That's how many!'

'Allegra,' Dave said soothingly. 'I know that Marisol has had a bad first impression on you, and I think you're right. I don't like her either.'

Allegra raised her eyebrows in surprise as Dave admitted this. Never had he spoken badly about someone new. Ever.

'_But_,' he went on. 'I'm going to give it a shot, as I'm coming up to Peak Two with you. So you'll have me there too. If things get too stressful, I have the authority to take over from Marisol.'

'Then have the authority to kick her butt out of here and back to Canada!' Allegra cried incredulously, waving her arms in the air.

Suddenly, before Dave could say anything, Marisol swung open the door without knocking, her hands on her hips.

'Excuse me, Mr York,' she said purposefully to Dave. 'But the level of noise coming from in here is quite loud, and there are children down the hall trying to sleep for tomorrow.'

Allegra had had enough. Now, just listening to Marisol again made her see red.

'That's it!' she cried, storming over to Marisol. 'You've got no respect for the fact that Griff _technically_ isn't a child anymore! And the others aren't _children_. I'm not a _child_. None of us are. How many times have you fallen off your prissy snowboard after getting snow kicked in your face? _Too many_, I'll bet! That's what's made you so demented after all these years!'

Marisol raised her eyebrows at Allegra, and coolly shrugged off Allegra's words.

'Miss Sauvagess, I believe that the light's out limit was over about two minutes ago.' She said, looking exaggeratingly at her watch. 'And you have to be in bed relatively soon if you don't want to be banned from the circuit.'

Allegra snorted.

'You can't ban us!' she cried. 'We're the competitors, not you!'

'Allegra, please, no more yelling.' Dave had come up behind her, and laid a hand on her shoulder. 'You do need the rest.'

Allegra glared at him, and he took hold of her hand momentarily. Giving it a squeeze, he left something in Allegra's grasp as he guided her out of his office.

'Goodnight, Allegra,' he said gently, giving her a nudge towards her room.

'Night, Dave,' she said, holding the piece of paper in her hand tightly. 'Night, Marisol au de arse.'

Marisol looked stunned and shocked as Allegra simply flicked her hair over her shoulder and stalked off towards her room.

Once inside her door, she looked around at the waiting faces of the rest of the SSX Team.

Opening her hand, she looked down at the piece of paper.

It was the list, the one of all the accessories that they would acquire tomorrow.

Allegra smiled.

It said that she got a duffel bag full of spray cans.

'I got it,' she said, grinning wickedly up at everyone else.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 24

Peak Two = Wheels Beginning To Turn…

'I am a freaking genius.' Allegra said early the next morning in the cable car. 'No wonder you worship me and grovel at my feet.'

Griff grinned at her, but Elise gave her a sour look that didn't look very worshipply. Zoe gave Allegra a high five, and then a low one, and then they tapped fists. Nate reached over to tap the backs of their fists as well, and then Viggo, Griff, Kaori and Mac joined in.

Moby and Psymon were looking up stuff in Moby's laptop, which had free Internet access wherever he was in the world. Sometimes, there would be an argument on what to look up, or sudden laughter over what they were looking at.

Elise sat back, staring out the window as if she would rather be in a million different places other than in the cable car stuck with the others.

Allegra ran a hand fondly over her Gript Ript+Snipt snowboard, admiring the way its curves caught the morning sunlight.

The cable car jolted slightly as they went up towards Peak Two, and Allegra watched as everyone else settled back into their seats.

'So tell me, Nate,' she said, and Nate looked up at her. 'What is your great plan that you won't share with us?'

Nate grinned, and shook his head.

'Sorry, Big Al.' he said smugly. 'But it is called the element of surprise.'

'Nate's working himself up for failure,' Zoe said, grinning at Nate. Griff giggled.

'Yeah,' he added. 'And soon, the wait will be over.'

Allegra smiled, and reached into her pocket. Grasping the list, she pulled it out and read over the accessories that she would be getting.

Allegra Sauvagess:

1 duffel bag, containing:

9 spray cans of assorted colours.

Flying V Electric Guitar, case included.

Assorted guitar case stickers.

Her smile widened, and Mac reached for the list.

'Here,' he said. 'Can I?'

Allegra passed him the list, and suddenly, there was an outburst from Moby and Psymon. It was short lived, but the words passed were less than pleasant.

'Cut it out, you wankers,' Elise sighed, looking as if she was prepared to jump out of the cable car. She shot Allegra an exasperated look.

'Oh, man!' Mac cried, grinning his head off and laughing. 'Al, look at what I get!'

Allegra took the list, and studied Mac's entry.

MacKenzie Fraser:

1 Boom Box

Monkey Facemask

1 CD case

15 CD's.

'I've always wanted a Boom Box!' Mac said, settling himself back into his seat.

His face looked alive and happy, and Allegra was glad there was no trace of the incident with his parents evident.

Nate stretched and looked out his window.

'Whoa,' he said, and everyone looked his way. 'We've got a crowd.'

Allegra came over beside him, followed by Kaori, Griff and Viggo.

'Wow,' Griff breathed, looking totally awed. The masses of people below them waiting was unbelievable.

Elise was behind them, her arms folded.

'Nothing I haven't seen before. And this is a good place to snowboard.' She said, casting her eyes over the countryside below them. 'I hate flat places.'

Viggo laughed.

'That's not as good as Nate's pet hate!' he said. 'Tell them, Nate.'

Nate shrugged.

'I hate cities, photo shoots, and golfers. No big.'

Allegra scoffed, thinking of how her parents had recently taken up weekend golf.

'Then don't meet my parents ever again.' She said, and Nate grinned.

'Maybe I won't have to,' he said as the cable car came to a shuddering halt on the metal stairway leading up to the car's platform.

'Why not?' Zoe asked, shouldering past him. 'Whatever happened to happy families?'

Allegra snorted.

'Happy families? With _my_ parents? I'm gonna get you a dictionary, Zoe.'

**MCOMM FROM: **Moby

**SUBJECT: **I Have A Couple Of Questions…**  
MESSAGE: **

_Peak Two, huh? Congrats on your victory against Mac – now you get to do battle with Nate… not to mention all the others. Hey, Quick Question: Does it bother you to be half French? With all that crap that Psymon gave you first off, I'm surprised you haven't cracked yet…but still, I guess we are only human, huh? Good luck up on the mountain…_


	26. Chapter 26

**Part Three:** _Who Put __**THAT**__ There? _ Chapter 26

Playing Dress-Ups

'Come on, it'll look great!'

'No! Arrgh! Get _off_, Kaori!'

Allegra waved her arms in exasperation, trying to brush Kaori away from her. Kaori giggled and tried to pull the shirt over Allegra's head again.

'Nooo! Kaori, please! Stop! Mercy! _CUT IT OUT!_'

Kaori managed to tug it down over Allegra's undershirt, and then stood back to admire how it looked on Allegra.

'Ick,' Allegra said, looking down at the shirt in disgust. 'I hate it. Officially.'

Kaori looked slightly reproachful.

'You haven't even worn it outside yet.' She said, and Allegra snorted.

'Like I would want to.'

The shirt had a print of Elmo and Big Bird, and Allegra stuck her tongue out like a five-year-old.

'It's…it's totally beyond disgusting. Even for someone like me. And that, _that_ is definitely saying something.'

She ripped it off, and handed it back to Kaori, and looked down at her camisole tank top and boxer shorts.

'I would rather go outside in _this_,' she said, motioning to her underwear. 'At least it's better than Tweety Bird on steroids.'

Kaori slid the top back onto a hanger, and then looked slightly confused.

'Tweety Bird on…'

'Tweety Bird on steroids,' Allegra explained. 'You've never heard that Tweety Bird took steroids to get rid of her "puddy tat" problem. But in fact, the steroids turned her into Big Bird. And she got a sex change, too, coz she couldn't stand being such a big woman.'

Realization dawned on Kaori's face, and she then looked back down at the T-shirt.

'I was thinking, you know, as a night shirt or something…'

Allegra rolled her eyes as she pulled on her cargos.

'No way. Sorry Kaori, but those are waaaaay off limits.'

Kaori looked slightly hurt, and Allegra put a hand on her shoulder.

'Hey, look at it this way,' she said. 'Next shop we go to, I can pick out something _I_ like, make you wear it, and then totally embarrass you by parading you in front of everyone.'

Kaori smiled, getting the hint.

'All right. But I might get it. Oh, Allegra, that's something…' she said dropping the shirt and reaching for another from the pile that took up half the bench space. 'Look at this one…'

Allegra rolled her eyes and boredly watched as Kaori showed her yet another strapless top, and then glanced around the other cubicles in the change room.

'Isn't it the cutest thing?' Kaori asked bubbly, holding up a T-shirt that had a manga style panda printed on it. Allegra dutifully agreed that it was in fact the cutest thing, but she was thinking about how long they were taking.

The rest of the group would move on without them if they didn't get a move on, and Allegra pulled her black and orange top back over her head for the final time.

'That's it, Kaori. Please, no more.' She begged, and Kaori grinned.

'Okay. But when we hit the next store…' she said, allowing her words to fade as they headed out of the change rooms, and Allegra sighed.

This wasn't panning out too well.

**MCOMM FROM: **Viggo

**SUBJECT: **lolface…**  
MESSAGE: **

_Did you guys see the look on Allegra's face after she and Kaori came out of the mall today? Lol! Hilarious, if you ask me. She looked as if she'd been dragged through pile after pile of clothing, with the whirlwind called Kaori dragging her by the plaits! Sorry, Al – but it's so f**king funny that you wouldn't believe how hard we were all trying not to laugh…Griff damn near choked on his toffy-apple!_

They caught up with the group at the front of the store after hanging up the rejected items of clothing.

Everyone, it seemed, had gotten a total make over in the clothes department.

Zoe had acquired jeans with horizontal rips stretching across the legs and a top that even Paris Hilton would reject, Elise had gone for a slightly more gothic look this time instead of her usual stunning white. She wore black combat pants and a tight black top that hugged her figure, with a print of a vibrant red rose snaking its way up the shoulder of her sleeve and around her left shoulder.

Nate, however, had donned a new cowboy hat, a red, waterproof vest, and khaki green cargos.

Griff and Viggo had renamed their own fashion sense, too. Elise had been kind enough to allow Viggo to get Griff new gear instead of taking on the rash task herself. Griff was now dressed in a green T-shirt that had long, white sleeves, and on the back of the shirt was written,

"If I had to give a ****, I'd give it to you."

Viggo, though, had toned down his appearance a notch. Now, he wore baggy jeans and a striped turtleneck shirt, which looked quite contrary to what he a donned earlier. Allegra shuddered at the memory.

Even Mac and Moby had changed into new gear. Mac had chosen a new, un-ripped black jacket and baggy black jeans.

Moby had taken to wearing a sporty shirt that looked like someone had taken the English flag and made it into a T-shirt. Along with that, he wore purposefully faded jeans that had a perfectly straight look until you saw the knees, and then the material sagged around his calves.

Kaori and Psymon were almost unrecognisable.

Psymon, for starters, was dressed like a nerd, complete with the ironed white shirt, tie, pressing black pants, ridiculously shiny shoes, and pens clipped into the breast pocket. If his biceps didn't bulge so much and if his hair wasn't still gelled into its separate spikes, Allegra would have mistaken him for a regular nerd who worked in a computer store.

Kaori, however, now wore a red veil that made her look like a female terrorist, one of those ones from Iraq or something, Allegra guessed at random.

In actual fact, she was the only one who hadn't changed her appearance at all.

'Allegra!' Kaori said reproachfully, her playful smile hidden by the wrap-around turban thing. 'Why didn't you get anything? You had enough money!'

Allegra groaned, self-consciously folding her arms protectively over her chest.

'I don't really do…you know, clothes. Anyway, are we done shopping? Let's ride!' she complained.

Everyone laughed, and they all continued along the busy street, catching all sorts of stares and glances from passers by.

'I don't know who looks worse,' Allegra whispered to Elise, and Elise leant down to listen. 'Psymon or Moby.'

Elise laughed.

'Probably both of them. Hey! Come on, guys! Let's get our hair done! This way!' Elise cried, pointing excitedly and already changing direction, heading into snazzy looking hairdresser's shop.

Everyone followed, and Allegra groaned, feeling like she was in for even more hell.

'This, I must say, would look great on you.'

The assistant held up yet another shirt, and this one managed to actually catch Allegra's interest. 'For a snowboarder, that is.'

'Why is that?' she asked curtly, casting a critical eye over the shirt.

It had a light pink and yellow spider web pattern on the front, and although it was a short sleeve white T-shirt; the designer had added red cotton sleeves.

Kaori held up a red-and-white patterned bandana as well, and pressed it against Allegra's hair.

'This would go well with the top,' she said, and Allegra rolled her eyes.

'Suuuure, like what looks good on some people looks _great _on me,' she said, taking the top and heading back to the change rooms.

Kaori grinned, her wrap-around veil now around her neck like a scarf as to not mess up her hair. 'That's right.'

Most of the group had gotten different hairdos, but Allegra had flat out refused. She preferred to keep her plaits the way they were.

In actual fact, the shirt was a good fit and as Allegra looked at herself in the mirror, and admired the way the contours of her body and the shirt were able to blend together.

'Allegra?' Kaori was knocking quietly on the door.

'Yeah?'

'How does it look?'

Allegra opened the door and showed Kaori the effect. She had already picked out a pair of baggy Green Machine combat pants that suited her, and now the top finished off the outfit really well.

Kaori's face burst into a grin.

'Oh, Allegra! It's…totally awesome!'


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27 Plans

'All right,' Allegra said, spreading out the map of the Hut on the desk in one corner of her room.

Everybody was crowding around, eager to know his or her parts.

'So what do we do?' Griff asked, bouncing up and down in his seat. Nate put his hand on Griff's head to stop him, but it didn't make a difference.

'Yeah – c'mon Al,' Moby said, more enthusiastic than he let on. 'Tell us the gig, girl.'

Allegra put dots on the map of the Hut, and pointed to each one.

'All right. Listen, coz this is going to be important. Prank number One, Plan A: Mission Piss-Off.' She said, and everyone smiled. They liked the sound of that.

'Elise, you start here, and you distract Marisol. Griff, you come along, acting innocent, and then collide with Viggo, who's carrying a cup of coffee past Marisol…here.' Allegra put her finger in the map where a hallway was supposed to be, and then continued. 'Vig, you send the coffee flying, and aim it for Marisol's pricey top. Once that's done, Nate, you come in here –' another point, 'and make a snide comment. Whatever comes to mind first. Anyway, Marisol hopefully will avoid you guys for the rest of the day. This gives us time to devise Plan E. Meanwhile, Plan B, Psymon, I want you to go with Zoe and dig up as many bugs and creepy crawlies as you can. Put them in this.'

Elise handed Psymon a plastic cup, and he eyed it curiously.

'This will go by the side of Marisol's bed. Zoe, it's your job to make sure it's hidden, but it will make a lot of noise in the silence.'

Zoe raised her eyebrows.

'And just how am I supposed to do that?' she asked. 'Marisol's door is always locked whenever she's not in there.'

Allegra bit her lip. She hadn't thought of that, and she was quickly devising a new plan when Nate spoke up.

'I could pick the lock.'

Surprised stares came from all around, and finally, Allegra managed to break the silence.

'_You_ can pick locks?' she asked incredulously, and Nate shrugged.

'Yeah. It helps when you've got years of practice. Anyway, I heard that Marisol was staying in tonight. Are we putting this into action, like, today?'

Allegra frowned, and Kaori spoke up.

'I could entertain her for Zoe while Zoe hides the bugs.'

Griff grinned.

'So could I! I wanna be part of the distraction too!' he cried, and Elise snorted.

'You'll probably have gotten yourself into far too much trouble by then, Grommett.' She said, and Griff pulled a face. 'Besides, wait and see what we've got in plan for _you_ to do next.'

'Really? There's more?' he asked, his face lighting up again.

Allegra nodded.

'Yep. This time, Plan C, you and I will be going into town to pick up the accessories with Marisol, so on the way there, do as many stupid things that don't include blowing up the car as possible.'

Griff was impressed.

Although, his enthusiasm didn't spread as it once might have.

'What about us? We don't have anything to do.' Mac complained, nodding to himself and Moby. Moby looked impassive, but slightly miffed at being left out.

'That,' Elise said smugly. 'Is Plan D.'

Allegra and Elise explained what the rest of the plans were, and the dates were decided on when the pranks would be played.

At that moment, there was a sharp knock on the door. Without waiting for an answer, Marisol came in, hands on hips.

'Whoa,' Viggo murmured to Allegra. 'Someone blew down the wrong end of _her_ trumpet.'

'Right.' Marisol said purposefully. 'What are we up to now?'

Allegra suddenly screwed up the map, labelled dots and all, and threw it into a corner, a disgusted look on her face.

'Ahh well,' she said sullenly, receiving looks of shock all round. 'At least, next time, I'll think about adding in that new store you wanted to go to Kaori. Sorry, but that plan is straight out the window.'

She looked pointedly at Kaori, hoping she would catch her drift. Luckily, Kaori caught on quickly, and sighed, looking forlorn and disappointed.

'Yes, I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier.' She said, and the rest of the group got in on the act.

'Don't worry, Kaori,' Viggo said casually, slinging an arm around Kaori's shoulder in fake sympathy. 'There was this wicked place I wanted to add in, but I forgot it too.'

'Yeah, one of my favourite stores, too.' Elise said, putting on a phony sad face.

Nate nodded, and Marisol looked shocked.

'You…were planning another outing?' she asked, and Allegra picked up a loose thread of a lie, and started reeling Marisol in.

'Oh _yeah_,' she gushed enthusiastically. 'In actual fact, we were planning one for you, Marisol.' At Marisol's raised eyebrows, Allegra back-pedalled slightly. 'Of course, _I_ didn't come up with it. Blame that on Elise, you know, coz she's your cousin and everything, she wanted to make you feel at home here while you coach us. That's all.'

Allegra smiled sweetly, and Marisol looked taken aback and flattered.

Suddenly, Allegra saw Elise dive in before Marisol could regain her composure.

'Marisol, there's something I want you to see out in the hallway…' she said, grabbing Marisol's arm and tugging her out of the room. 'Griff, could you grab Marisol a coffee, please? And Viggo can you help Allegra and Nate move that trunk from the hallway into the lounge so it's out of the way?'

She caught Allegra's eye and winked. Plan A was going into action, just as planned.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Mission Accomplished, Twice.

Allegra and Nate watched from the lounge as Elise began talking hurriedly to Marisol.

Psymon and Zoe had already disappeared into the snowy garden, plastic cups in hand, presumably to begin the bug hunt.

Allegra held her breath as Viggo waited for his cue from her, and then turned her eyes towards the kitchen, which was large enough to fit all of them, waiting for Griff to appear.

Soon enough, he did. Balancing a scolding cup of coffee in both hands, Griff made his way carefully towards Elise and Marisol's turned back.

Allegra gave Viggo the signal, and he bounded out from hiding.

Griff came right at him, and Viggo brushed Griff's arm ever so lightly so it looked like he'd accidentally pushed Griff off balance.

'Aw, noooooo!' Griff cried melodramatically, tossing the cup at Marisol so it looked like Viggo had knocked it flying.

The cup arched gracefully, spilling coffee in what seemed like slow motion. Allegra held her breath while Elise darted out of the way and Marisol turned towards the sound.

Time sped up again, and the coffee splashed all over Marisol. She stood there, gaping down at her coffee stained blouse in shock.

Griff and Viggo kept moving, Griff darting to where Viggo had jumped from and Viggo heading down the hall, their faces alight with triumph.

Elise laughed openly – and then, Nate walked out into view as if startled by the noise and coming to investigate.

'Whoa –' Nate laughed, loving the effect it had had on Marisol. 'Someone drop something?'

Marisol glared at him silently, realizing what had happened, and suddenly, Kaori bounded swiftly into view, grabbing Marisol's arm.

'Marisol! Oh, gee, Marisol, what happened? Listen, I wanted to talk to you about some stuff – I'll wait til you're cleaned up first. Sorry for the interruption, Marisol.'

Marisol looked at loss for several seconds, and then regained her cool enough to stalk off down the hallway with a storm cloud over her head, and Kaori flitted after her, still going on and on about something – Allegra didn't catch what – obviously unabashed.

Suddenly, Zoe tapped Allegra on the shoulder.

'Al – we got yo bugs,' Zoe grinned, and Allegra slapped her a high five.

'Urgh, that is truly disgusting.' Elise moaned, pushing the cup full of bugs back into Psymon's eager hands. 'Purely foul.'

'Matches Psymon pretty well,' Zoe said, grabbing the cup from him and shaking the container next to her ear. 'That, I have to say, sounds like victory.'

Allegra took the cup and held it close to her own ear. The sound of the bugs crawling around inside was creepy, and in the silence, it would be even better.

'Come on,' she said, checking that hallway to make sure that Kaori was still outside with Marisol, she motioned for everyone to sneak over to Marisol's door.

Nate produced what looked like a chunky key-card, but instead of twiddling it into the lock, he flipped it over opened a catch at the back.

'Nifty,' commented Zoe. Nate grinned big, and then pulled out two toothpick-sized bits of plastic, worn after years of use.

'This should work,' he muttered, and juggled the bits of plastic expertly into the lock.

After a moment of Nate's fiddling, Allegra glanced over her shoulder.

'Hurry! They'll be back any minute!' she hissed, but Nate ignored her, only continuing to concentrate.

Suddenly, there was a click, and Zoe grabbed the door handle.

'Yess!' Psymon hissed victoriously. 'Nice one, man!'

He slapped Nate a high five, and Elise and Zoe slipped inside to hide the bugs.

Allegra kept an eye out from the door, watching anxiously down the hallway for any signs of movement.

She coughed purposefully, and then, from around the corner of the hall, Griff stuck his hand out and gave a thumbs-up signal. The coast was still clear.

Elise and Zoe were murmuring quietly from inside Marisol's room, figuring out where to hide the bugs.

Suddenly, there was a low whistle, and Allegra turned to see.

'Who was that?' she hissed.

'Me!' Psymon whispered, holding up a trophy. 'Can you believe this, man? She has a full collection of these! They look fake.'

Allegra rolled her eyes and motioned for Psymon to shut up and put the trophy back. He did, and then Nate, who was keeping an eye on what was going on outside the window, gave a low cough.

'Heads up, guys, we have company.'

Allegra, Elise, Zoe and Psymon came over to the window, and together, they all peeked out.

Marisol was standing in the driveway with Kaori when a very fancy car pulled up. A young man, maybe about thirty-seven or so, stepped out, a huge smile on his face.

Allegra didn't recognize him, but he almost ran over to Marisol and they hugged tightly. Elise growled, and then whispered,

'That's Brett. He's Marisol's husband, but why he married her I have no idea.'

Allegra allowed herself a grin as yet another plan bloomed inside her head. And it included Brett's car.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Talent? If You Say So…

A chirping sound brought their finding of the container to an abrupt halt.

It was Viggo, signalling that Marisol was coming.

'Aw, damn!' Psymon muttered, peering out the window. 'She went around the back!'

Elise and Zoe scrambled around, hurriedly finding a hiding place for the cup of bugs just by Marisol's pillow, but under the cover of several papers.

They all fell silent, listening. The sound of the bugs crawling was almost loud.

'That sounds purely evil,' Nate hissed, and suddenly, there were voices on the stairs.

'Oh, come on, honey, just stay for a while,' Marisol said, sounding as if she was pouting something awful. 'The change in scenery will be good.'

'Naw, I have to get back. You know, the job and all…' Brett drawled in a heavy American accent. 'But I can stay the night. That's all, though darlin'.'

'Hide!' Allegra hissed, and they all dived for cover.

Zoe and Elise flew into Marisol's wardrobe, and Nate ducked into the en suite. Psymon swung himself out the open window and practically glued himself to the outer wall of the Hut, and Allegra dropped to the floor silently and wriggled under the bed.

From there she watched as the door swung open, and then, she caught sight of two pairs of feet; Marisol's and Brett's.

'Come on, Marisol,' Brett said, and his feet became closer to Marisol's as the door swung shut behind them. 'No one will notice.'

'Yeah,' Marisol giggled. 'I've got the little cretins on tight schedules, so we won't be disturbed.

Suddenly, there was the wet smacking sound as Marisol and Brett kissed, and Allegra almost couldn't keep from gagging at the noise.

She nearly inhaled a whole loud of dust, but managed to keep from sneezing.

All of a sudden, there was the shuffling of feet, and then, Allegra realized that Marisol and Brett were scuffing back towards the bed.

'Crap,' she muttered silently as a heavy weight suddenly fell on top of her. She realized that with Marisol and Brett on the bed, she was pinned the floor.

She could feel them moving about on the bed above her, and tried not to think about what they were doing.

Allegra managed to turn her head towards the en suite, and she saw Nate crouching by the almost closed door.

His eyes were wide, looking slightly shocked at seeing Allegra pinned, and she shrugged as silently and as little as she could.

Turning her head again, she could see the door of the wardrobe open ever so slightly and she caught a glimpse of Zoe's boots and Elise's jeans.

She couldn't hear or see Psymon, and to keep from inhaling any dust Allegra had to hold her breath, and she was beginning to see spots in front of her eyes –

Suddenly, there was a bloodcurdling shriek and several whoops from outside the window.

Allegra's eye widened as Marisol and Brett stopped cold.

'What was that?' Brett asked, scrambling up from the bed, and Allegra inhaled slowly and silently, glad she was no longer pinned.

'Psymon Stark!' Marisol cried, rolling off the bed and leaned out the window to see Psymon running across the roof. 'Psymon!'

He only stopped when he reached the edge, only pausing to swing around and pull a face at Marisol. Then, he stepped back off the edge of the roof perfectly straight, and disappeared from view.

Marisol screeched in shock, and then she and Brett raced from the room, Brett frantically asking what the hell was going on.

There was a moment of silence as everyone waited until they were sure that Marisol and Brett were gone, and then there was a giggle from the wardrobe, which escalated to laughter as Elise and Zoe tumbled from the wardrobe doors, struggling to stay upright from laughing so hard.

Nate appeared from the en suite, laughing his head off, and Allegra struggled from underneath the bed.

'Oh…oh, God!' Elise cried, wiping a tear of laughter from her eyes as Nate pulled Allegra from underneath the bed. 'That…was…_hilarious!_'

'Sheesh! Al, you are _covered_ in dust!' Zoe laughed, nodding at Allegra shirtfront.

Allegra looked down at herself and laughed. Her entire shirtfront was covered in dust and fluff from beneath the bed.

'Whoa, looks like I was dipped in syrup and the left to sit in flour all night!' she laughed, and suddenly, Griff, Viggo and Mac were at the door, looking shocked.

'What – ' Mac said, catching sight of Allegra.

Griff and Viggo started falling over themselves laughing as they realized where Allegra had hidden.

'Where's Psymon?' Viggo choked, still chuckling.

'Probably getting a thrashing by Marisol right now,' Elise said grimly. 'But still, the guy's got talent, and that's always something.'


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Plan D – It Worked In The Handbook.

The group snuck out later that night, at about ten-thirty pm, the bag of accessories tucked under their arms.

Allegra and Griff had been disappointed when the things had all been delivered to the Hut, as that foiled Plan C.

'Oh well,' Viggo murmured as they reached the garage. 'Can't have everything.'

Elise threw him an exasperated glance, and then rolled up the garage door almost silently. Allegra had been afraid the roller door would squeak and cause a lot of noise, but it went up without hesitation.

'Whew,' Zoe whispered as they crept inside. 'Someone got a torch?'

Moby flicked on his, and so did Griff.

Shining the light around, Griff looked awed at the car as it sat in the middle of the garage.

'Wow,' he breathed, and Mac nudged him.

'Come on, kid. Let's get to work. Al? What's the plan?' Mac looked over at Allegra as she unfolded the plan of Brett's car.

Spreading it out on the bonnet, Allegra gestured for everyone to gather close around her.

'O-kay,' she said, taking a deep breath. 'This is the way it goes.'

For the next four hours, while Marisol and Brett were unsuspecting, outside the Hut in the garage, Allegra and the rest of the team sprayed, glossed, decorated, tarnished, glued things to, strung, painted, tacked and almost destroyed Brett's Mercedes Benz.

At two-forty am, Allegra stood back and admired their handiwork by torchlight.

'Wow,' Nate whispered. 'That's going to look like something from Halloween tomorrow.'

Griff, who was curled in Viggo's arms, snored gently as Viggo and he dozed after doing their share of the "decorating".

'Man,' Mac said quietly. 'That looks like something form beyond the grave.'

'Yep,' Elise said, her face grim. 'I hope it scares the hell out of Brett.'

Allegra smiled. 'And Marisol.'

Moby stirred Viggo, who woke gently and stood, lifting Griff with him. Griff kept sleeping, and Zoe wiped a hand across her forehead.

'Whew,' she whispered. 'Let's get in.'

Psymon slid out from under the car on a skateboard, his hands covered in grease and oil.

'Hey, we goin somewhere?' he croaked, frowning up at them. Zoe nodded, and put her foot on the skateboard and dragged it back.

'Yeah. Once you've finished fiddling with the engine and fuel tank, you may consider sleeping on the roof.' She said, and Allegra nodded.

'Yeah – seriously. You reek, Sketchy,' she said, and Psymon pouted.

'Whatever,' he muttered, swinging himself up and onto his feet. 'Whoa, we have created a monster.'

'The spawn of Satan,' agreed Zoe, smiling evilly.

'Can we – _yawn_ – can we get in now?' Kaori asked sleepily. 'I need a shower.'

Nate chuckled as he slid the garage door up silently. 'Save it for tomorrow, kid.' He said, and Allegra shone the torch out across the gravel driveway.

'Let's go,' she whispered, and they all headed in.

**MCOMM FROM: **Kaori

**SUBJECT: **Kur-Smash **  
MESSAGE: **

_I wonder how the Monte-Caro will work out…I hope it's not too scary and I hope we spray painted the right end…_

_Still, it will be good to get rid of Marisol and even if we lose our chances to graduate onto Peak Three then we can always convince Greg of the Peak Two race…this will be something worth being here for, even if the car is horribly disgusting and looks like a couple of guerrillas went crazier than usual…_

The next morning, Allegra was woken by a shuddering scream.

Immediately, she flung off her covers, and looked across to Kaori, who was basically doing the same thing.

'Time to see of ol' Monsto-Car-o worked,' she said to Kaori, and she nodded.

'Yep. Gee, I hope it's really not that scary.' Kaori said, a frown crossing her brow.

Allegra shrugged on a top as she heard Griff and Viggo thundered down the stairs. 'Oh well. If it is, then we know what to expect. If it's not, we can always cover up a little lie like that.'

Kaori smiled and pulled on her boots.

'Kaori! Allegra!' Nate hissed, peering around Allegra's door. 'Come on! Everyone's going to see how bad we did Brett's car. Remember, act innocent and don't laugh!' he paused, catching sight of Allegra. 'By the way – nice boxers, Al.'

Allegra grinned, and flashed a look down at her crinkled white boxer shorts. 'Bet yours aren't any better.' She snapped, and Nate laughed again.

'Yeah – come on, girls, let's rock this!' he said, and Kaori emerged from her room, completely dressed.

'I'm ready,' she said. 'Let's do this!'

As Allegra and Kaori headed down stairs, they could already hear Marisol ranting on and on about someone vandalising Brett's car.

Allegra caught some words like: "Monster", "hideous", "vandals", "horrible", "terrifying", "R-rated".

Suppressing a smug grin, Allegra turned into the kitchen where Brett was slumped into a chair, white faced and saying nothing, and Marisol shrieking and sobbing.

'Oh –oh my God! It was awful! Like…like a…a revenant clown!' Marisol cried. 'It was…a…a…psychodelic corpse!'

Everyone else was seated at the table, looks of bewilderment on their faces. Secretly, though, Allegra knew they were all smirking at their handiwork. Although it nagged at her that they hadn't heard the bugs in the cup: that would have been even funnier on top of it all.

'It was…terrible! Like someone sadistic cretin had made a monster out my car!' Brett said exasperatedly. 'It's…oh, God, I can't even describe what it looks like!'

'Could we see what happened to it?' Kaori asked innocently, and Marisol suddenly glared daggers at her. Kaori, taken aback by the sudden gesture, stepped back behind Allegra for minor comfort.

'It's still in the garage.' Brett mumbled, white as a sheet. 'I don't want a car like it.'

The entire group headed out while Dave soothed Marisol and Brett. Elise rolled up the roller door, and the destroyed Mercedes Benz was horrific to see now the group's creation was unveiled.

'Woooow,' Griff breathed, his face splitting into a grin. 'That. Looks. Super. Cool.'

The car had sprigs of Viggo's colourful afro wig sprouting from every crack, Moby's string dreadlocks hanging down out the grill like a beard, Allegra had sprayed the headlights so they looked like evil eyes and had sprayed what looked like jaws onto the front of the grill above the string dreads. Elise's devil horns were perched on top on of the policeman's cap, which sat on the roof in front of Zoe's bat wings.

Zoe shoved her hand into her pocket, and Allegra heard the click of a single button. In response, the bat wings began moving, up and down.

Allegra grinned as she surveyed the rest of the car.

She could see that one of Griff's packs of expandable jelly had entirely consumed the passenger seat, and she could make out through the window where Nate had hidden his mini explosives. The shreds of Psymon's straightjacket and prison pants were glued to the door seals, so they hung down over the window, and the tyres were flat.

Kaori had drawn creepy patterns that Zoe had designed for her all over the back of the car with lipstick and other make-up accessories, and oil mixed with a strange reddish liquid seeped and dripped from the boot onto the concrete floor.

By the time Allegra had taken it all in, everyone was looking at what they had completed with wide grins.

As Marisol and Brett stumbled over to join them, still looking shocked, horrified and angry.

'Well, whoever did this sure got the reaction they were hoping for,' Nate said as everyone quickly wiped the smiles off their faces.

'Yes, and now, we're leaving.' Marisol said, and grabbed the key from Brett. Allegra saw Nate struggled to suppress a grin as Marisol jammed the key into the lock.

There was a loud _BANG!_ and Marisol jumped back, letting out a quick piercing shriek. Everyone was silent as they watched Marisol approach the lock again. It didn't explode again, and she slowly unlocking the door for Brett.

Once again, there was another loud _BANG! _as the mini explosive tucked into the locking system went off.

This time, though, Marisol was controlling her fright, and they opened both front doors very carefully.

Brett grabbed at the handfuls of jelly, trying to pull it out but not succeeding. In the end, he scraped it out with his hands. It all landed with a wet, smacking plop on his expensive looking shoes. Loafers, Allegra guessed as she stifled a laugh.

Beside her, Allegra heard Griff trying desperately not to laugh.

Marisol slammed the door, looking determinedly straight ahead, and so did Brett; their humiliation and anger nearly overwhelming.

Marisol jammed the key into the ignition.

_BANG!_

Jumping so high in her seat she nearly hit the roof, Marisol took a deep breath after a moment, and the engine groaned into life.

Allegra crossed her fingers and shot Psymon a confused look. He was frowning, as if trying to work out a math sum he had done wrong.

Marisol stepped on the gas pedal, and the monster car jumped forwards an inch.

_BANG!_

In the passenger seat, Brett was shaking as the last of Nate's mini explosives went off. Suddenly, there was a lot a of loud _bangs!_ and _clanks!_ as the oil pipes and other car bits fell out of the bottom of the car.

Psymon looking secretly overjoyed, and Allegra nodded ever so slightly in satisfaction.

Moby, who was standing behind her, leaned in and whispered,

'Mission accomplished, cap'in.'


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

One Way Ticket to Hell – Via Greg

The whole group were standing forlornly in Dave's office.

Dave had called Greg, and Greg had come up to Peak Two as soon as he could.

The group had admitted to destroying Brett's car, and in return, they all had to pool their resources and winnings to Marisol and Brett with what they could.

'What,' Greg began slowly, controlling his voice. 'Gave you the insane idea to do something like that?'

Although Marisol's reaction had been funny, and the car had been ruined, everyone now looked low and embarrassed for doing something so stupid.

'We…' Mac began, and then shut up quickly as Greg turned to stare at him from beneath his bushy eyebrows. 'Nothin'.'

'Riiiight,' Greg said slowly. 'And who in God's name came up with this idea?'

Everyone exchanged glances, willing to lie like rugs for each other, when Allegra cleared her throat.

It wasn't as if she hadn't been busted before at school – whenever she and two or three of the guys had pulled a stupid yet funny prank on the teacher. Being suspended from school was God's gift to her.

But this – this could mean her career. Allegra had always promised herself that she wouldn't be anything other than a pro snowboarder.

'I did,' she muttered, and all eyes turned to her, either stunned, shocked, or angry. The one angry face belonged to Greg, and he pulled out a file from the drawer in Dave's desk.

'This,' he said, waving it in front of her. 'Is your school reports and records. You got in here by luck, and I only accepted you because we need a tenth member to make up the SSX team.'

Allegra nodded slowly. The earlier feeling of triumph had disappeared as soon as they'd faced Dave, who was already on the phone to Greg.

Now, though, Allegra felt proud of her school records. They were a symbol of her rebellious nature, and Allegra was proud of that.

'And now,' Greg continued, laying the folder on the desk top with a sigh. 'I am debating whether or not to send you home so that you can complete your studies and get on with life as if you'd never begun snowboarding.'

Allegra's throat constricted. If Greg took away her privilege to snowboard, then she was ruined.

Suddenly, Viggo was at her side.

'Greg,' he said hesitantly, and Greg flicked a glance at him.

'Yes, Viggo?'

Viggo cleared his throat, not looking at Allegra. 'Greg, we were all in this. Allegra mostly, but then again, Marisol was a witch. She forced us like you wouldn't believe.'

'Yeah!' Moby said defiantly. 'She was so bad that Griff was crying himself to sleep every night. And you know how Griff barely _ever_ cries!' he looked at Greg pleadingly for support.

Griff shuffled closer to Elise and took her hand. As if flooded with determination, Elise moved forward too, a frown slashing her brow.

'It wasn't all Allegra's original idea. I never wanted my cousin to coach us. Besides, Marisol doesn't even snowboard that much.'

Suddenly, everyone turned to Elise in shock.

'What?' Greg said, looking confused but interested.

Elise shrugged. 'I wanted to tell you, phone you, but she was forever monitoring the phone lines. It was so unfair. And anyway, the prank we played on her was merely to get her to go away. To stop coaching us stuff that we already knew and had perfected.'

Greg raised his eyebrows, as if he wasn't convinced.

Behind Allegra, Psymon snorted in disbelief.

'They don't call you Bombshell for nothin', right Elise?' he smirked. 'That was heavy.'

Allegra caught his quick grin, but it disappeared before Greg could see it.

'Still, I want you all to know that you have let me down. Marisol may not be what she said she was, but you will all still be punished. Never have I seen such a disgraceful car. By the way, next time you do something like that – ' Greg paused to looked at each and every one of them. ' – Relax a bit with the make-up, okay?'

Allegra saw the twinkle in Greg eyes, and a flash of a smirk flickered across his face was obvious.

Everyone in the room let out the breath they'd been holding.

'But – ' Greg reminded them as they shared high fives and grins of victory. 'There will be punishment.'

Nate slapped Allegra on the back as they headed down out the door.

'We may all have tickets to hell,' he chuckled. 'But we go in style.'


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Months Passing – Stuff You Never Notice

Allegra plodded through the next few months – and soared through the circuits. Every race she went through came clean, and soon, she was running out of space on her wall for all of the medallions she had won.

Nothing was more exhilarating than the Big Air. Allegra literally flew past everyone else on the course called Schizophrenia, leaving them all in her wake.

Marisol had disappeared soon after the car incident, and so had Brett. Greg had given up on trying to get in coaches for the team, and they were happy to go through the practice runs without a more professional eye than Dave or Greg himself.

The third week before the finals, though, Allegra's dreamy rush of events came to an abrupt halt.

Viggo asked her out.

'What?' she asked incredulously as she tossed another shirt into her suitcase.

'I mean – you don't have to. I was…just wondering.' Viggo said, looking slightly embarrassed.

Allegra paused, thinking about. She had sworn to herself that she would never go out with anyone since Connor's death. Tom was an exception because she had hung out with him nearly everyday since the accident. She often wondered what the others would think, if she got involved with someone else on the team. She had a reputation of being bad-ass, tough and one of the guys – she hung with them not dated them. She thought about all the guys on the team – none of them seemed interested in any of the girls, with the possibility of Psymon and Zoe, who seemed to have some kind of love/hate relationship going which usually ended in a screaming match.

Besides, she had seen Mac looking at Kaori, and thought that they could have some real potential as a couple, although Mac was really shy around Kaori and Kaori always seemed too preoccupied to notice him.

'Um…' she began, searching for the right words. She didn't want to shoot Viggo down, but she didn't want to violate her oath.

Viggo hovered in the doorway, looking hopeful. Allegra made a snap decision, and smiled big.

'Sure,' she said, putting on a cheerful face. 'I'd…well, love to. When and where?'

Arrangements were made, and Allegra found herself almost floating when it came time for lights out.

'Al?' Kaori asked, and Allegra turned to her.

'Yeah?' she said, almost not hearing her friend.

Kaori smiled, her eyes shining mischievously.

'Are you on drugs or something?' she accused. 'Coz you look really, _really_ happy.'

Allegra felt a rush of chagrin flood her face, and grinned back.

'Why? Do you want some?' she asked pulling a pack of chewing gum from her pocket and tossing it to Kaori. 'Mango flavour.'

Kaori giggled, and broke off a piece before tossing it back.

'Thanks,' she said, chewing slowly but not taking her eyes off Allegra. 'Seriously, though. Are you?'

Allegra laughed.

'No. If I told you, you'd probably die of shock.'

'Well, there's always room in the cemetery,' a voice came from the door. Mac leaned on the doorframe, grinning at them. 'Can I have some gum?'

Allegra snorted and threw the pack to him.

'I guess so. But you have to be ready to fall into your graves. You'll probably die immediately.' She said ruefully, and Mac slouched in, Griff at his side.

'I wanna hear it too!' he cried, bouncing up and down.

Allegra grinned and sat on the bed. Mac moved to occupy the chair by Allegra's desk, and Griff plopped down onto the floor.

'So what's so great that it's going to kill us?' Kaori asked, sitting up in bed.

'G-force,' said Mac, and Allegra chuckled.

'Not quite,' she said. 'Viggo asked me out.'

Griff choked and looked like he'd swallowed a gobstopper and hadn't figured it out yet.

'Nooooooooo way!' he cried. 'What'd he say when you shot him down?'

Allegra picked busily at the bed cover, not saying anything and not meeting anyone's stunned eyes.

'You…said yes, didn't you?' Mac grinned, and Allegra flushed again.

'Yeah,' she muttered, still picking.

Kaori broke the silence.

'Does it matter? Allegra is beautiful. She should go out with Viggo.' She said brightly, and Allegra felt immensely relieved.

'Thanks, Kaori,' she mumbled, and Kaori smiled at her. Griff and Mac were falling over themselves laughing, and Mac even fell to his knees he was laughing that hard.

'Shut it,' Allegra growled. 'Or I will shut it for you.'

Griff was hooting with laughter, and he managed to choke out,

'Al…and…Viggo…whaaaaaaaaaaaaa!'

Kaori hopped out of bed, and motioned for Allegra to join her. She went over to Griff, and pointed to him.

Allegra obligingly scooped him up, and Kaori went over to Mac, who was trying to stop laughing. She grabbed his collar, and hoisted him to his feet.

Allegra handed Griff to him, and Kaori shoved them towards the door. They managed to take the hint, and they stumbled towards their double. From across the hallway, Nate gave them a confused look, but Allegra just waved him away.

'Nevermind,' she said, and Nate shrugged, coming over to lean on his own doorframe.

He looked down the hall after the two of them, and then turned back to Allegra.

'Whatever bull shit they give you, just give it back, okay?' he said, and Allegra nodded before closing the door.

'Night, Nate,' she said, and then turned back to Kaori.

Kaori was suppressing giggles, and then managed to say,

'So…why am I still alive?'

Allegra groaned, and then grabbed Kaori in a bear hug, pretending to strangle her.

'Coz I'm about to kill you!'


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Re – Living Memory

Allegra and Viggo hit the town early that night, before the sun had gone down. Viggo had donned his barely used bus transfer, and Allegra had used her much more regularly used one.

_Obviously, _Allegra thought. _Viggo doesn't need public transport when his parents are such high-level instructors. He probably just had to snap his fingers back home and a chauffeur would appear, limo and all. _

She thought back to the time when she and Connor had first started seeing each other. It had been strange, because they had only met each other the same day they started going out. Reliving the memory as the bus wove it's way through the outskirts of the town, Allegra wondered.

And wished.

_The kid Mum had called Connor looked back over his shoulder at her, his sunglasses perched on his slightly crooked nose._

'_Hey,' he said cheerfully. 'You wanna grab a drink?'_

_Allegra agreed, ready to head back in case she suddenly changed her mind, but she ended up jogging the whole way to the canteen with him._

_They were back at the Arena, and Damien had just shown Connor's little sister Kimberly, how to begin riding a snowboard._

'_Which can I get you?' Connor asked, digging into his pockets for money. 'Fanta or Pepsi?' _

_Allegra paused, wondering if he was joking. She had change; she could buy her own drink. 'Uh…Pepsi, thanks.'_

_Connor payed for the drinks and handed Allegra hers. Mutually, they both headed over to an empty table in the outdoor area of the canteen._

_The table was positioned under a patch of large, shady trees, and Allegra sat down opposite Connor._

'_So,' she said, trying to make conversation. 'When did you start snowboarding?'_

_She couldn't believe it. She had never, ever been so nervous around a guy before. She had turned fourteen a month ago, and was still living it up._

'_When I was eight. How about you?' Connor seemed friendly enough, and Allegra suddenly found herself blushing._

'_Um…when I was seven.'_

'_Whoa!' Connor laughed, leaning back in his chair and grinning. 'You beat me by – what, five, six months?'_

_Allegra realized that she was slowly relaxing, and began trusting her instincts. 'Yeah, I guess so.'_

'_When's your birthday?' Connor asked, looking totally at ease._

'_March. You?'_

_Connor smiled, sipping his lemonade casually. 'September.'_

_Allegra took a swig of her Pepsi, still slightly nervous. 'Ever been to the Alps? Totally wicked up there.'_

_Connor's eyes widened._

'_Aw – yeah, I have! I went up with my dad two years ago. Man – the high alpine air is really good for you.' He said, and Allegra grinned._

_And just like that, Allegra slipped into easy conversation with Connor. It was almost natural, and really, kinda weird._

A bump in the road brought Allegra out of her daze. Beside her, Viggo was listening to his iPod, and there was still a while before their stop.

Allegra soon found herself drifting back into her dreamy state of mind.

_Later that night, after Connor's parents had invited Allegra's over for dinner, Allegra and Connor were out in the back yard, watching the stars come out._

'_Wow – look at that one!' Connor exclaimed, pointing up at a group of stars that, to Allegra, winked and sparkled._

'_That,' she agreed, 'is cool.'_

_They had been talking on and off all evening, making polite conversation over dinner, and they had then escaped for two hours up into Connors room with his little sister, and they had spent the time kicking each others butts at the video games on Connor and Kimberly's PS2._

_Then, Kimberly had got a call from her best friend, and she had managed to persuade her mum and dad to let her go for a sleepover._

_Connor had told Allegra about watching the stars appearing in the sky from by their swimming pool, and the awesome view._

_Allegra had agreed to watch the stars come out, and then, just like that, they were leaning towards each other, trying to see where the other pointed if a star suddenly appeared._

'_What about that one?' Allegra asked, pointing up at a large star. 'Isn't that Venus or something?'_

'_Yeah,' Connor said, moving closer. 'I read once that Venus is supposed to be the Goddess of love.'_

_Allegra turned to him and snickered. 'You don't really believe in Roman mythology, do you? Please, I mean, I gave up on that stuff yeeee-aaars ago.' _

_Connor cocked his head towards her and grinned crookedly. 'Not really.'_

_Suddenly, he leant closer, closing the gap between them. Allegra could smell his aftershave, and somewhere inside her a knot tightened. Connor reached one hand up to her face, gently stroking her cheek._

'_Al…' he whispered, and Allegra's eyes flew to his face._

_They were so close that their noses were almost bumping, but Connor turned his head ever so slightly, and then, his mouthed touched hers. Allegra felt stunned and surprised, but she went with it. Connor's hand slipped up, along her cheek and around the back of her head, holding her there ever so gently._

_Allegra was beginning to feel light headed, and then she remembered to breath through her nose, and the fog cleared a tiny bit._

'_Allegra! Allegra? Time to go!'_

_Mom._

_Allegra pulled back, and so did Connor. They stared each other in shock for a moment, and then Allegra looked behind her, towards the house._

_The bright floodlights on the porch didn't reach as far as where they were sitting, and Allegra was glad she was hidden in the shadows._

_Connor cleared his throat._

'_We're out here, Mrs Sauvagess,' he called, and Elinor Sauvagess came out to squat next to them on the grass._

'_Come on, Allegra, sweetie. Time to get you home.'_

_Allegra rolled her eyes, and Connor laughed, as if nothing had ever happened. She was glad, because after that, everything changed._


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The Rest Of The Ride

'Allegra?'

Viggo was tugging lightly on her shoulder, and Allegra spun back into reality.

'Yo?'

'We're here,'

Allegra glanced up, not having realized the bus had stopped and most of the passengers had already gotten off.

'Oh.'

Viggo grinned, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to her feet as they slid out of the bus seat.

'Sorry. I was…thinking. You know, life before the accident.'

Viggo nodded seriously.

'Hey – don't worry about it,' he said, and they headed down the aisle. 'Come on, our movie starts in ten.'

'Yeah.'


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Jerk It Out – Along With The Fans

Viggo raced Allegra to the movie theatre, and as they waited in line they joked and laughed. Allegra found herself having more fun than she had expected. The movie was a comedy, and had something to do with vampires and werewolves, and Allegra found herself laughing along with Viggo at every stupid, dumb-butt thing the characters did.

After the movie, they went down town to a small ice cream shop that looked out over the three Peaks.

Viggo sighed as he leaned back in their booth, looking out at Peak Three.

'To think that soon we'll be there,' he said with quiet satisfaction, and Allegra smiled and nodded.

'Yeah,' she agreed. 'I wonder who'll make it through.'

Viggo chuckled.

'I don't think I will, if I'm totally honest with myself,' he said, looking down into his slushy.

Allegra's eyes widened.

'Why not? Come on, Viggo, you're like, one of.' She said, scoffing as if she thought he was being stupid. But Viggo remained low.

'Nah.' He sighed, staring out towards the distant peak. 'Even if I do, there'll be a whole bunch newies ready to knock me off my perch.'

Allegra laughed, and then straightened her face.

'You can do better than them,' she said seriously, all sign's of laughter gone. 'Besides, when you talk about perches, you should be revving to knock Moby's.'

Viggo's face lit up as he laughed along with her, and Allegra knew she had found his soft place where she knew she could make him laugh.

She would keep at it all night if she had to. Suddenly, there was a cry from across the café.

'Look, mum, look! There's them snowboarder's! That's Big Al and Scanner! Mum, please, can I get their autograph's?'

Allegra turned and saw a ten-year-old child tugging at his mother's shirt. The mother rolled her eyes and whispered something to her son, but he was insistent. And he had attracted a lot of attention. Suddenly, people burst out with camera's and started taking photo's, without even asking.

Allegra and Viggo got up, shielding their faces as they tried to get out of the café.

'Hey! Guys, could you stand still a moment?'

'Can we get your autograph's?'

'We love you, Scanner!'

'Big-Al! Big-Al!'

'Hey! Over here! Look this way!'

'Smile!'

Allegra lashed out, trying to clear a path in front of her. People crowded around them, trying to get a photo or trying to get close.

She lashed out and hit someone in the nose, and they stumbled back. Viggo shoved her gently forward, and she kept going.

'Show's over!' she yelled. 'Go home! No photos! Out of the way! Move it or lose it, people's!'

Some people backed off, but others didn't take the hint. Suddenly there was a flash of dreadlocks and a shaved head in the crowd that Allegra recognized.

Moby, braving the fray and coming towards them like a tall, heavy-set knight in a black jacket, faded blue jeans and snowboarding boots, and Nate not that far behind him.

'Al!' Viggo called over her shoulder. 'Look, it's Nate and Moby!'

Only Allegra heard his yell, and she nodded, shoving her way through. Then, Moby had her by the shoulder, and Nate was guiding Viggo.

'Let's move it, guys.' Moby said, and Nate swung around to the crowd.

'Okay, guys!' he bellowed, and everyone fell silent. 'No more pictures are to be taken, or we are calling national security for public harassment! Whatever images you got of Miss Sauvagess or Mr Rolig are to be deleted, or I will personally find out your addresses and have them destroyed myself. Is that clear?'

The whole crowd nodded, and people slowly started looking down at their cameras and deleting the photos.

'Remember,' Viggo added in a spooky voice. 'He has photographic memory. He can remember each and every one of you at a glance. He will find you – ' Allegra elbowed him in the ribs. '– Ouch.'

Nate took a deep breath.

'Right. Everyone, we hope you have a good evening.' He said, and then swung around, grabbing Allegra by the shoulder and herding them all out of there.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Gone With The Snow

The finals loomed – and Allegra grew more edgy.

The last couple of races would prove whether or not they were all ready to graduate to Peak Three – and that meant lots of practice while the time was still there.

But it was slipping away quickly, and Allegra promised herself that she wouldn't stuff up. Until the worst happened.

No one knew how or why, but on the day a week before the Peak Two semi-finals – Psymon disappeared.

That morning, Zoe had poked her head into Allegra and Kaori's adjoined bedroom.

'Yo.'

Allegra jolted from sleep, blearing trying to wake up quickly.

'Wha – wha – '

'Zoe?' Kaori mumbled, sitting up in bed slowly.

'Has anyone seen Psymon?' Zoe asked, frowning at them.

Allegra looked over at Kaori, and they both shook their heads.

'No. Why?' Allegra asked. 'If you ask me, then I say good riddance.'

Zoe rolled her eyes and snorted.

'Well, guess what – I'm not asking you.' She said sarcastically. Then, she became serious again. 'But seriously, guys, have you? He's not in his room and Mac says he's not on any of the circuits.'

Allegra tossed off the covers.

'Wait a minute – if I think about this, I'm sure I'll understand it,' she said dramatically, pinching the bridge of her nose as if she was concentrating hard. 'Are you saying that you're worried about Psymon not being here?'

'Yes!' cried Zoe. 'If he doesn't rock up by this afternoon when we head out to the final circuits, then we're screwed! We can't compete without the whole team, dipshit!'

Kaori was pulling on a T-shirt. 'We'll help you look for him,' she said, throwing a meaningful glance at Allegra.

Allegra snorted and sighed. 'Yeah – sure. Like I'm going to look for that cretin. He's tough. Haven't you seen his pec's?'

Zoe groaned in exasperation.

'Don't you realize that Psymon's instinct's for survival are about as big a chance as Griff making pairs of all his socks?' Zoe raised her eyebrows, as if to prove her point.

'Come on, guys,' said Kaori, weaving between them so that their defiant glares were broken. Zoe turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, and Allegra could still hear her clomping down the stairs while she pulled on her snowboarding boots.

'Well, _someone's_ in a huff,' she said, and Kaori sighed as she opened the door.

'We can't worry about that now. Come on, Al. We've got a snowboarder to find.' She said, and then disappeared out the door.

Allegra was about to follow her when there was a sudden scream – and she stopped cold.

She knew who had screamed.

It was Elise.

**MCOMM FROM: **Elise

**SUBJECT: **EMERGENCY!**  
MESSAGE: **

_PSYMONS GONE!__ I CAN'T FIND HIM ANYWHERE AND I AM __**REALLY**__ BEGINNING TO FREAK OUT!_

'What happened?' Allegra shouted, bursting into the kitchen. Dave was standing by Zoe, who was sobbing at the kitchen table.

Everyone looked shaken and pale; Elise especially. She was clutching a piece of paper, and she turned slowly to Allegra.

'Look,' she whispered, and Allegra grabbed the slit of paper form her. On it was a single sentence, and a drop of blood at the end.

It read:

_It was all I could do to keep from saying: "m-wa, ha, ha"._

Allegra knew who had written it without even looking for a name. Psymon.

'He left it?' she asked, shell-shocked. Elise nodded, and Zoe burst into tears all over again.

Griff as huddled in Viggo's arms, and Viggo was rocking him back and forth. Mac and Nate were looking just as shocked and scared as Dave, and Moby was staring out the window, a miserable and vacant expression on his face.

Allegra watched everyone for a moment, and then burst in action. Something inside her snapped, and she was suddenly roaring into life, not even sure if she was walking in a straight line.

'Well?' she cried, grabbing a backpack from the rails by the door and began filling it with first aid stuff. 'Are you all just gonna sit back on your arses and do jack-all while Psymon tries to kill himself?'

Looking around, Allegra was infuriated when no one moved. 'You guys! Jesus Christ! Get off your arses and move yourselves! Dave!' Allegra whirled on him. 'Move them!'

Dave shook his head sadly.

'I'm sorry Allegra.' He said forlornly. 'We've done everything that we could, and I've even called Greg. He's on his way, but there isn't anything else we can do. Search and rescue is heading out there ASAP, and it's best if we leave them to it.'

Allegra growled like an angry tiger, and tossed a backpack at Viggo.

'Well, I'm not sitting here. Come on, Viggo. Please? Help me find him. At least you would, wouldn't you?' she was almost begging Viggo, and he understood her.

Standing, he frowned at the others.

'Allegra is right. Psymon knows some tricky spots where no one would find him but other snowboarder's. So, you lot just gonna grow old or are ya gonna help?' Viggo wasn't asking. He was demanding, and just about everyone caught his drift.

'I'm up for it,' Moby said determinedly, and he grabbed a pack for himself.

'I'm totally in,' said Elise, regaining some of her composure.

'And me,' choked out Zoe, wiping her eyes on the tattered sleeve of her shirt.

Nate and Griff stood as well. 'We're coming.'

Mac was the only one who'd barely said anything. Kaori had caught Allegra's eye and had nodded, getting up and grabbing her own pack.

'Mac?' Allegra demanded, and Mac sighed.

'I…Al, can I…' Mac nodded towards the hall, where it was quieter. Allegra nodded and followed him into the hallway.

'What is it?' she hissed, glancing back at the others, making sure they were all getting ready. 'Come on.'

'I…mom said I can't ride at all unless it's training or the finals. The doctor, too. He says I'll put myself at risk of strain or something.' Mac looked crestfallen that he couldn't help, and Allegra thought quickly.

'Right,' she said after a moment. 'You stay here.'

Mac looked up. 'What?'

Allegra smiled grimly, laying a hand on Mac's shoulder.

'We need someone to monitor the MCOMM's from here at base. You're perfect for that. I call Atomica, and he can help you too.'

Allegra saw Mac's face light up, knowing that he would do anything to help.

'Thanks, Al.' He whispered, and Allegra nodded.

'It's okay,' she said. 'See ya.'

And then, she turned and ran back to the kitchen, where everyone was grabbing their snowboards, and then she headed out with them into the snow.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37 Directions, Decisions And Spats

The group headed out into a valley, and Allegra pulled up short once they reached the deepest part of the basin.

Elise scooted up beside her.

'We should split up,' she said, and Allegra nodded.

'Yeah – But stay in two's or three's,' she agreed, and Moby shuffled his board over to them.

'Nate and I will head west,' he said, and Nate nodded, silently calculating where west was in co-ordinance with the sun.

'I'm with Zoe,' Elise said, motioning for Zoe to start heading east. 'We'll go around the east side of the mountain.'

'Griff and me'll head south,' Viggo said, looking out towards the southern side of the crag. 'And we'll meet you somewhere on the other side.'

Allegra nodded, and then turned to Kaori.

'Looks like its you and me, pal,' she said, and Kaori smiled slightly.

'All right,' Elise called. 'We meet back here in an hour if we don't find Psymon. If we do – '

'What do you mean, if?' Allegra cried, her heart pounding with rage. 'We'll find Psymon, even if the weather freezes our limbs off!'

'Ex – cuse me,' Elise said, her eyes widening in challenge. She drew herself up so she was taller. 'We may not find him. Even if we do, we may only find his remains.'

Allegra felt infuriated. She hated, hated Psymon's guts for nearly killing her, but she couldn't stand the idea that he may die – or if anyone died.

'We stay out for as long as it takes!' she yelled, and the rest of the group began looking uncomfortable as she Elise battled for control.

'No! I say we – ' Elise started, only to be cut off.

'Go, everyone!' Allegra shouted over the wind that was picking up. 'Go!'

**MCOMM FROM: **Viggo

**SUBJECT: **Not Wanting To Bother You - **  
MESSAGE: **

_Was splitting up the right thing to do? It's risky – what if both in the pair get hurt and neither one can reach their MCOMM? Al – don't make stupid decisions…it'll only get you killed. I guess we all need to understand that._

Allegra and Kaori were heading through the mountain's crags, weaving and jumping rocks, fallen tree branches and thick tree roots in their path.

'Allegra-san?' Kaori called over the wind. 'Al?'

'Yeah?' Allegra could hear Kaori, but only at a yell.

'Do you think we'll find him?'

Allegra thought before answering.

'I don't know.' She called back, and glanced back at Kaori. She looked young and frightened, like someone so much younger than she really was.

Allegra wondered why she was doing this for Psymon. Maybe she was losing it completely, but then again, why had everyone else agreed to do the same? She shook her head, shaking snowflakes from her face.

She would decide another time. When she wasn't trying to save a maniac's life.


	38. Chapter 38

**Part Four:**

_Lookin' to do some __**SERIOUS**__ damage…_

Chapter 38 Growl, Hiss, Spit – Or Is It "Meow"?

Allegra and Kaori reported into the Hut every twenty minutes. After half an hour, they had cleared the mountain, without seeing one sign of Psymon.

They skated to a stop at the edge of the forest that lined the mountain peak, breathing hard and sweating from the exercise.

'Al?' Kaori gasped, leaning on a large rock while she panted. 'We should…go…back.'

Allegra shook her head determinedly. They still had time. They could still keep looking for Psymon…

'We can't, Kaori,' she said, surprised to find herself sounding regretful. 'There's still time to find him. We do have to take a break, though.'

She undid the footholds on her snowboard and pulled her feet from the bindings. Kaori did the same, and then shook some snow spray off her jacket.

The winds they had battled through in between the crags had cleared up, and the sky had opened to present the sun, bright and sharp.

'Wow,' Allegra said, shading her eyes from the glare of the sun off the snow. 'Man, I never knew it could get that dazzling.'

'Yeah,' said Kaori. 'I like the weather when it's like this.' She had slowed her breathing, and Allegra watched as she rummaged in her backpack for a water bottle.

'Hey – Kaori, listen,' she began, and Kaori squinted up at her. 'About earlier – with Elise and that – I'm sorry. I was so angry. At Psymon. At myself. Sorry you got caught up in it. Really.'

Kaori smiled, and then fished two pair of snow goggles out of her backpack, handing a pair two Allegra before putting on her own and taking a sip of water.

'That's all right,' she said, smiling slightly. 'But I wish you guys wouldn't fight so much. It makes me so mad to see that people can't live life as it is.'

Allegra grinned.

'Well, at least we don't have to worry about Elise bossing us around. Dude – when she messes with me, she messes the alpha pup.' Allegra snorted, turning around and putting on the goggles, then she gazed out at the wide, backcountry landscape.

Kaori sighed and stood.

'Ooh,' she moaned, rubbing her legs. 'I'm all shaky from lack of sugar. We did remember to pack something to eat, right?'

Allegra swung her own backpack off her shoulders and searched through it. She groped around for a couple of minutes before triumphantly fishing out a handful of protein bars.

'Here,' she said, tossing one to Kaori. 'Keep the moves pure.'

Kaori smiled unsteadily, her hands trembling as she took off the wrapper.

'You okay? Kaori?' Allegra took hold of Kaori's hands and peeled the wrapper off for her, and Kaori flushed, looking embarrassed.

'Yeah – I'm fine. Sorry. I get pretty faint fairly easily,' she apologized, taking a bite of the bar.

Suddenly, her MCOMM buzzed into life. Picking up the signal, Allegra opened the link to hear Atomica's smooth broadcasting voice.

**MCOMM FROM: **Atomica

**SUBJECT: **Come Back. Now.**  
MESSAGE: **

_Everyone out there now, we're issuing an immediate return-to-base. I'll repeat: everyone who is searching for Psymon is to return to the hut immediately. This is not a drill, it is not a fake. Anyone out there is in high danger risk of some nasty blizzards blowing up and some pretty big crags breaking away from the mountainsides, even though it's just Peak Two. There's been a bad weather forecast just come into the studio saying that we can be expecting some heavy sleet and snowfall in the backcountry. This warning is going out to everyone. If you don't respond within ten minutes, we'll issue another signal to you. If you can reach us, which you should because of the satellite projector, and you have no way of getting back to us, we'll be sending out the Osprey. Psymon, although his situation is unknown, will have to wait for now. Nine snowboarders are better than none._

Allegra sat her down on the rock she had been leaning on, and squatted beside Kaori until she had had three protein bars and had stopped shaking.

'You gonna be good to go?' she asked gently, and Kaori nodded, smiling. She was definitely stronger, and she stood, brushing snow and crumbs off her cargos.

'Yes, thanks, Al.' she said, and then grabbed her snowboard. 'We are heading back, right? Because of the storm warning?'

Allegra didn't answer, only leaning down and strapping herself in, keeping a watchful eye on Kaori.

'Come on,' she said, gliding forwards on her board, working her way among the trees. Looking around she admired the landscape, and wondered how in mere minutes it could be turned into a howling battlefield of blizzard winds and hailing sleet. Suddenly, something grabbed her attention. Kaori. 'Kaori?' she called, frowning. She had been there a moment ago…

'Allegra! Come here! Quickly!' Kaori. Kaori's voice, scared and uncertain. Allegra jerked her board up over a snow-covered log, sliding down towards the direction of Kaori's voice.

'Kaori?' she yelled, coming to the edge of the woods. She saw Kaori about ten meters in front of her, standing as still as a rock.

'Kaori? What is it?' she asked, and Kaori held up a hand very slowly.

'Look.' Her voice wavered, and Allegra sidled up to Kaori, looking over her shoulder.

Right in front of them was a huge, snowy white bobcat, its hackles raised, its claws extended, and its teeth bared.

'Where did that come from?' Allegra hissed into Kaori's ear. Kaori shook her head the tiniest bit, looking totally stricken.

'I don't know,' she squeaked, and the bobcat pricked its ears at the noise.

Allegra tried to think calmly but quickly. They were in its territory, and it was merely defending its home. It was probably more scared of them than they were of it.

It growled, and then hissed, spitting at them.

'Allegra?' Kaori murmured, her voice wavering.

'Yeah?' Allegra whispered back, her hand wrapped around Kaori's arm in case she had to drag her back.

'I'm terrified of cats.'


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39 Alarm Watch

Allegra's heart tightened as Kaori gulped back her fear.

If Kaori were terrified of cats, then she would be almost impossible to move if the bobcat attacked.

'Uh…' she murmured, trying to think of something that would either deter the bobcat or sooth Kaori a little. 'It's probably more terrified of you, Tricky Nishi.'

Kaori managed a single nod, and then, then bobcat began prowling around them, circling them.

'What's it doing?' Kaori whispered, and Allegra turned around remembering something that Connor had once told her.

'_With any kind of feline predator – you can be sure to do one thing if you and a friend are trapped by one of them. Never show them your back – they see it as a weakness. So instead, stand back to back with the other person, and make sure that the cat can't see someway that it could attack. If it seems that the person it's prowling around has two heads – it's more likely to leave you alone. It's a rule of survival.'_

'A rule of survival,' Allegra muttered to herself. 'Don't let it see some opening to attack.'

Kaori didn't hear her, and Allegra's mind was still racing furiously. Suddenly, she thought of something.

She brought her hand up carefully as the bobcat watched. She unstrapped her digital watch, and dangled it in front of the bobcat's face. It spat and growled at her again, and then glared at her, straight in the eyes.

'Meow,' Allegra snarled. 'Scary, I'm sure. To most prey anyway.'

The bobcat pounced back, snarled viciously at the sarcastic tone of Allegra's voice.

'Allegra?' Kaori whispered feverishly. She was sounding shaken again, and Allegra knew she had to act quickly.

She set the watch carefully, and then set off the alarm. The bobcat growled and hissed at her again, and then she tossed the watch away from herself and Kaori – far out into the snow.

The bobcat bounded after it, its growl rumbling deep in its throat.

Allegra grabbed Kaori's hand and dragged her in the opposite direction.

'Come on, let's get going!'

Kaori was nearly like a dead weight, and then she managed to find her feet, and she stumbled dazedly after Allegra.

Back in the woods, they could hear the bobcat roaring after them – realizing that the watch had fooled it.

Allegra and Kaori strapped their feet into their snowboards quickly and got up speed as fast as possible.

'Let's just…just get out of here,' Kaori called, and Allegra glanced over at her friend's face, seeing Kaori stricken and scared.

'That's where we're goin'.' She yelled over the sound of snow spray. 'And it's probably not much more vicious that than out here!'

Kaori looked over at her and smiled, even though she still looked shaken up and kind of barfy.

'You feelin' all right?' she called, and Kaori nodded. Allegra smiled back grimly, and then said,

'Atomica said to watch out for falling trees,' she called, and Kaori looked alarmed. 'He said that the weather was beating them up a bit.'

'We should stay out of the trees for a bit, just in case.' Kaori said, swerving past an already fallen log. It was fresh, and a new wave of fear passed over her face. 'I can see what he means, though.'

Allegra swore under her breath as she was forced to change direction around a frozen and icy tree branch.

'Yeah,' she replied. 'We should – '

There was a loud crack from behind them, and Allegra and Kaori both stopped; skidding to halts about five meters apart.

They froze, looking at each other in horror, and then turned very slowly. Behind them, a huge pine tree was still cracking and breaking in two.

One half of it that had split in two was falling straight at them. Kaori suppressed a shriek, and Allegra reacted quickly.

'Kaori, move! Go, go, go!' she said, snapping her feet out of her footholds and lunging at her stricken friend.

Kaori stumbled as Allegra came into contact with her, barging her out of the falling pines path.

Its shadow fell over Allegra, and she looked up in time to see it about to fall on her.

This time, though, she didn't react quickly enough.

'All-eeee-gra!' Kaori screamed, but Allegra didn't hear her.

The tree twisted and landed, and everything went black.

'Al,' Connor whispered, somewhere close to her ear. 'Get up, Al. Please.'

Allegra groaned, and tried to pry open her eyes. Everything was a dark shade of grey, tinged with snowy static.

A figure was leaning over her, his sandy blond hair falling over his piercing green eyes.

'Allegra?' he said again, his voice soft and caring.

Allegra groped for something to hold, and found his hand. 'Connor,' she whispered hoarsely, trying to see him better.

He smiled, and her world of vision brightened. 'That's it, Al. Come on, it's time to get up and keep going.'

'Wait,' Allegra mumbled, but a wind was picking up, swirling around them, blowing Connor away. 'Don't go.'

He smiled sadly. 'I was never here,' he murmured, and quickly leaned down and pressed a kiss onto her snow-covered forehead.

'Nooo…' Allegra sighed, trying to hold his hand tighter. It became harder and stiffer under her grip, and she looked down.

She wasn't gripping his hand. All trace of Connor had been blown away. She was grasping a stubby branch, poking out of the log that covered her.

Why hadn't she been killed by the crash? She looked around her, and tried to get up.

She only managed to sit up, before she found her ankle was trapped between a thick, broken branch and the hard, snow-packed ground underneath her.

Reaching up, Allegra found that the broken part of the tree had collapsed on top of her, trapping her in the hollow.

She groped at the snow around her, trying to dig out before her hands froze. Her hands hit air, and a blast of bright light pierced her vision.

'Arrgh,' she groaned, but kept going. Eventually, the hole she'd scraped out was enough to drag herself out.

The only problem was, her ankle was still trapped. Swearing colourfully, Allegra reached back and tried to dig away at the snow around her leg.

The snow gave, and she yanked her leg out before the branch collapsed back into the space that her leg had just occupied.

Scrambling up, Allegra checked that her leg wasn't broken, and then felt over the rest of her.

Head, neck, chest, arms, shoulders, ribs, hips, waist, legs, and feet…everything was still properly intact.

'Right,' she muttered. She looked around, scooped up her snowboard, and then yelled,

'Kaori!'


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40 Alone – But Hardly Lost

'Kaori!'

Allegra had tried to climb over the fallen tree, but had had little success when her feet kept slipping on the cold, slippery bark surface.

She had gone around the tree, but Kaori had disappeared. Suddenly, her radio went crazy.

Picking it out of her belt loop, she pressed the talk button. 'Yo?'

'Allegra! You're all right! Oh, oh God, Allegra –'

'Kaori?' Allegra asked, cutting Kaori ecstatic voice off. 'Where are you?'

Kaori stopped, and Allegra imagined her looking around the landscape. 'I – uh, don't know. I'm…out in the open, but pretty far away from those woods we were in.'

'What did you do after the tree fell?' Allegra asked, and Kaori quickly explained that she had gotten on her board, and had glided out of there as fat as she could, she was so frightened. Allegra understood.

'Okay – look, it may be better if we both stay apart. It's gonna be okay, Kaori. You've got my backpack, right?' Allegra asked, realizing that her pack was gone.

'Yes,' Kaori answered, and Allegra heard a zipper moving on the other end of the line.

'Good – keep it with you. Just in case you need any more snack bars.'

Kaori's breathing came in crackles, and Allegra had a vision of her breathing white, foggy smoke. 'But what about you?' she asked.

Even though Kaori couldn't see her, Allegra shook her head. 'Don't worry about me. I'll be okay.'

Kaori sighed. 'Okay. I'll, um…see you later.'

Allegra smiled at Kaori's bravery. 'If you find Psymon, call back to base, and then contact everyone else, me included. Okay?'

''Kay. Sayonara, Al.'

'Bye, Kaori.'

Allegra let go of the button, and then clipped it back onto her waist.

Sighing, she strapped herself back into the foothold bindings of her Gript Ript+Snipt Spiderwork snowboard.

Grabbing a branch for leverage, she pulled herself back, and then skated forward, gliding across the mountain, keeping a keen eye out for any sign of Psymon.

Several calls had been swapped between the Hut to Allegra, but they had stopped about half an hour ago when the battery had died.

She was watching everything that went by, and once, she caught sight of Viggo and Griff heading through one of the backcountry circuits.

They had seen her, and they came over to talk to her.

'Found anything?' Viggo asked breathlessly. Griff was out of breath as well, and Allegra shook her head.

'Not yet.' She answered, and Viggo looked around.

'Where's Kaori?' he asked, and Griff chirped up.

'Yeah – weren't you supposed to be partnered with her in the search?' he asked, and Allegra nodded.

'I was, until a falling tree fell on me.' She said, kind of lamely. At their shocked looks, she hurriedly added, 'Chill, guys. I wasn't hurt.'

They looked more relieved at that, and then Viggo grinned.

'That's you – always in trouble, for one thing or another.' He laughed, and Allegra nodded grimly.

'Yep. That's me,' she agreed, and then looked back out into the wide, vast and unexplored country. 'No sign of anyone else yet?'

Griff and Viggo shook their heads. 'Nope. We caught a glimpse of Elise and Zoe about two hours ago, and boy, Elise looked furious.' Viggo chuckled, and Allegra grinned.

'Right,' she said, thinking hard. 'I'll keep looking. And if the weather turns bad, look for Kaori out in the east. And look out for bobcats.'

She pointed out towards the general direction where Kaori would be, and Viggo nodded.

'Okay. We'll do our best.' He said, and Allegra pushed off on her snowboard, feeling the snow slide away under her feet.

'See ya later, guys!' she called over her shoulder, and she heard a farewell yelled from Viggo and Griff, but it was snatched away by the wind before she could make out any of the real words.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Mission: Psymon

Allegra kept an eye on the flashing scenery around her as she coasted quickly down the mountainside.

If this weren't reality she would have turned a blind eye at a search for Psymon. He was the one who had put her in hospital last year in the first place.

But now it was real, it snapped everything into perspective.

And Allegra knew that if Psymon was found injured - or not found at all, the Conquer the Mountain race would by cancelled.

She thought she was only doing this to keep the race on, but deep inside she knew that if Psymon was hurt, or even killed, then she wouldn't forgive herself.

Powering forward, Allegra watched as the backcountry past her by in flashes. Braking slightly, she felt her walkie-talkie buzz.

Reaching for it and holding down the talk button, she spoke into it quickly.

'Mac?'

'No. Moby.'

Allegra frowned. Why was Moby back at the Hut when he had said he would be out looking for Psymon? Psymon was, like, his best mate.

'Why are you back at base?' she demanded, and static crackled through the links as Moby sighed.

'Atomica has called the search off, and we're sending in the choppers to look for Psymon. Come back, Big Al – Didn't you hear Atomica issue the call-back?'

'Yeah I did – but no,' Allegra said defiantly, knowing that she would find Psymon, whether or not anyone else would. 'I'll find him, Moby. I swear I will.'

Moby coughed, sending static into her ear again.

'Big Al, the conditions are worsening. If you get stuck out there, there will be _two _search parties, not just the one.' Moby tried reasoning, but Allegra had closed the link and stowed the walkie-talkie back in her belt clip.

'Sorry, Mr. Jones.' She muttered, focusing on the approaching natural snow ramp. 'But even though Psymon put me into hospital, I'm not going to let him forget this. _Ever_.'

She took air as she soared off the mound of snow, feeling the wind whip past her ears as she went higher and higher, hoping to catch a glimpse of Psymon.

Somewhere.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Found, But Safe?

Allegra landed, and pulled up to a stop.

Looking around her and breathing hard, she took in the landscape. She pulled the description of Psymon from her pocket; studying Viggo's drawing carefully.

Allegra was on the top of a high slope that twisted its way vertically and dangerously downward sharply.

Swallowing, she searched the scenery again, looking for a sign of Psymon's white and black-flecked ski jacket, or his SkullFire board.

But still there was nothing, and snow began falling again.

Allegra searched the ground around her for any tracks, but the ones that she had found earlier were nowhere to be seen.

Either Psymon hadn't come this way and had veered off, or he had…

Allegra looked down the slope again, and saw the tracks.

And footprints, scattered with lots of space between them, as if someone had been taking long strides to regain balance or footing.

And blood.

Lots, and lots of blood.

Smeared everywhere.

As the Osprey prepared for take off, Viggo's mobile jangled into life.

Grabbing at it, he jerked a thumb to the Osprey's pilot, bringing him back down.

Nate leaned out of the side.

'What is it?' he called and Viggo ran up to the side of the Osprey, his hair flying around his face.

'It's Allegra! It's got to be! Maybe she's found Psymon!'

He jumped into the Osprey out of the wind, holding the phone to his ear.

'Hello? Allegra?'

'Viggo!' Allegra's voice was worried, but relieved.

'Allegra!' he cried. 'What's happening, man? Have you found Psymon?'

The pilot cut the engine, making the rotor blades slow to a stop to give Viggo a clearer voice and hearing.

'Almost, I think,' she said doubtfully. 'I've found the tracks again, and there's a lot of blood down there, so I think he's fallen and hurt himself. Again.'

Viggo nearly laughed, but suppressed it.

'All right. Find him, and then contact us again. We'll hover around here until you're ready. Good luck, Big Al.'

'Thanks, Scanner. I'll need it.'

With that, the line cut off, and Viggo and Nate were left in silence.

'So I take it that's she's found the tracks again?' Nate asked, signalling to the pilot to take off again.

'Yeah,' Viggo said, swallowing. 'And he's probably not in good condition.'

Allegra coasted slowly down the hill, watching the tracks carefully as they slid kamikaze like through the snow.

Psymon had obviously been in an accident of some kind, because in no state of mind would he have taken his feet out of the footholds unless he had air.

They wove into the woods, and then dropped off a ledge. But then again – it sounded like something Psymon would do just for kicks. Idiot.

Allegra braked to a stop, almost sliding off the edge.

The tracks had stopped again.

'Damn,' she muttered, slipping her feet out of her boards footholds.

Leaving her board up there, she clambered slowly and gingerly down the ice wall, feeling her way down, as little light shone into the huge ditch.

Landing on the bottom, Allegra took out her torch and flicked it on, casting the strong beam of light around.

She saw that now she was totally enclosed in a trench, one that had been dug out long ago and had been left unfilled.

Nothing could get in, except if it fell in or climbed in carefully, and nothing could get out, unless they had a helicopter to hang down a rope.

'Hello?' she called into the gloom that disappeared underground, like some kind of tunnel.

Stepping forward into the darkness, Allegra shone the torch into the dark, trying to make out shapes.

Her feet fell against something, something that moved.

Jumping back and almost slipping on the ice, Allegra shone the beam of light at her feet.

It was a foot, clad with a snowboarding boot. A soft-grip step in boot. With barbed wire wrapped around it.

Moving up carefully, afraid of what she might see, she recognized Psymon's baggy pants, and then his jacket, which was soaked in blood.

Psymon groaned and tried to roll out of the beam's bright light.

'Shine that somewhere else,' he mumbled, his mouth hardly moving.

Allegra let out the breath that she hadn't realized she was holding.

'Psymon,' she whispered.

Psymon looked up blearily, and squinted into the light.

'Yeah? Wadda ya want?'


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Psymon, The Electrocuted Daredevil.

Psymon's head rested on Allegra's lap, his spiked hair still holding up its pride, but it seemed wilted.

Allegra looked over his features as he slept.

His long facial features accentuated his Canuck background, and his powerful arms lay limply alongside him.

Even as he was unconscious, the feeling of others fear of him still hung around him, as if he would open his eyes at any moment, and try to rip out someone's spine and beat them with it before they could blink.

This was Psymon, the young guy who had sprayed snow into Allegra's face on purpose to put her off winning through the Big Break, the one who had always been one-up her, and now he was unconscious, and under Allegra's watchful eye.

She sighed, and gently brushed some snow from his already cold jacket.

She had called base about an hour ago, and they still hadn't shone up, even though Allegra had managed to drag Psymon's body out to the entrance of the tunnel where if someone in the Osprey looked down, they would be seen.

She sighed, and Psymon seemed to feel her move, and he tried to sit up.

'Stay down,' she said, pushing him back down. 'Your too badly hurt to be Superman anymore.'

Psymon's body shook slightly with weak laughter.

'Yeah, so what now, Big Al?' he asked, the strain in his voice obvious.

'We wait for the others to come and find us. They know where they're going, and so they'll find us,' she said simply, looking back out at the other end of the dug out trench, the part that was uncovered. 'And now, you owe me an explanation.'

Psymon groaned, and then followed her gaze.

'What about? The crash last year? Or…'

'Your sudden disappearance. That's what.' She said firmly, and Psymon rolled his eyes.

'Oh, Gods, Big Al. Don't want much.'

'While you're still sane, please.'

Psymon sighed, and Allegra felt him deflate from on top of her.

'Spill,' she demanded, and Psymon began kind of shakily.

'All right,' he said quietly, slowly wrapping himself in the memory. 'It all started when I was seven. I was always a daredevil, and always doing crazy things that I myself classified as "awesome". But one day, my group that I hung with dared me to get air on my BMX bike over some power lines. I did it. I really did, I got the air, I almost got over, but then…'

He trailed off, and Allegra finished for him slowly, recognition dawning on her.

'You were electrocuted.' She whispered, and Psymon nodded.

'In hospital for three weeks, just to get over the burns. But the smell of the place and the memory drove me up the wall. Has ever since. That's why I took up snowboarding, because there were no power lines to dodge. That's me – Sketchy Psymon, always getting into a fun scrape.'

'Fun?' Allegra's eyes widened. 'You count doing all those crazy and doubted possible stunts as fun? You need a reality check.'

Psymon smiled weakly, and then continued.

'I know. I thought that if I got so much stuff into my head and I took my thoughts away from the memory, I could forget it. The whole incident. But I couldn't. It was always there, in the back of my mind somewhere. And something I would do every time would remind me of the accident. I've hated myself for taking up snowboarding, but it's the only way I can escape. Still, it beats doing drugs by a long shot.'

Allegra raised her eyebrows.

'You did drugs?' she asked, and Psymon looked up into her eyes. This time, she didn't see anger, or craziness, or anything, only pain, and truth.

'Once. That's how I survived the crash.'

He coughed, and more blood oozed sluggishly out of the wound in his side.

'All right,' Allegra took a deep breath. 'Now the disappearance.'

Psymon's mouth quirked into a smile, and he went on.

'I thought that this time, this would be the last ride. I wanted to end it, knowing that you guys would try to find me, but I would know where to hide. I had found this place last year, and I thought that this would be a good place to curl up and die. Snow would fall on my body, covering my body and board, and that would be it, man. End of story.'

Allegra felt herself take a sharp intake of breath.

'You felt…suicidal? And you never tried to at least make it clear to anyone? Not even Moby? You're a dick, Psymon.' She said, frowning.

Psymon shrugged, his shoulders only giving a weak gesture.

'What did it matter what anyone else thought? My life should have ended. I don't deserve to live.'

He went quiet, and Allegra glared angrily at the wall opposite. Why did Psymon make it so difficult? He had been off limits, granted. He had been totally physco and crazy, couldn't deny it. He had slugged Nate across the face when high, and had to be shot with a tranquilliser twice before sinking into unconsciousness, yes. But this? He had done this early in the morning, with everyone still asleep and in bed, and just simply not come back. Who knows, he could have forced himself to bounce of mountainsides and hit trees on purpose just to get himself in a bad state, and then he had slunk here to die.

What a way to go, thought Allegra sadly.

'Psymon?'

Psymon groaned in reply. His eyes had closed, and he looked almost asleep.

'Psymon, promise you won't try _this_ stunt again,' she whispered, and Psymon's eyes flashed open, weak anger flaring.

'Why? What does it matter to you?'

Allegra thought for a moment, and then said,

'Not me. Zoe.'


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The Hardest Thing To Give.

'Wha…?' he mumbled, just as the _whop, whop, whop _of the Osprey's rotor blades sounded in the distance.

They came closer quickly, and soon, a rope dropped down into the open end of the tunnel.

'Allegra!' Nate's voice called from above, and then he slid down the rope to the icy floor. 'Allegra!'

He saw them, and then motioned upwards for the Osprey to land close by. Several more ropes dropped down first, and Viggo, Elise, Moby, Zoe and Mac dropped down next to Nate, their expressions relieved and worried at the same time.

'Allegra! Psymon!' Elise called, moving carefully towards them over the slippery ice.

'We saw your board, Al,' Viggo said, the wind of the rotor blades whipping up everyone's hair as they came forward. 'Nice signal.'

Allegra smiled, happy to see them, and soon, the rumble of a snow mobile came closer from the distance.

'What's that?' she asked, and Moby, Mac and Zoe lifted Psymon from where he lay on top of her.

Viggo grinned.

'At the age nine, Griff just got his licence.'

The snow mobile growled over the lip of the trench edge, and, with the tracks giving it extra grip, it manoeuvred carefully into the ditch.

Nate offered Allegra a hand, and she took it thankfully.

She had been sitting on Psymon's board, partly so that she didn't forget it and partly so that her butt didn't freeze onto the icy surface below her.

Elise came up with an extra-extra large ski jacket, and wrapped it around Allegra's shivering shoulders.

This surprised Allegra. Elise wasn't one for something like this, especially since the fight they'd had that morning. Her expression of surprise must have caught Elise's eyes, because she shrugged.

'Hey, you found Psymon,' Elise said, giving her a small smile. 'So I guess that for now we're at peace.'

She extended a hand for Allegra to shake, and Allegra took it, feeling steady on her feet now she was standing again.

Viggo had gone up to the snow mobile and had unloaded a stretcher, which Zoe, Mac and Moby lay Psymon down on.

Psymon looked up weakly, catching Allegra's eye, and she saw the old flare of calm maniac emotion in his eyes, which would promise later discussion.

Nate was behind Allegra, and put a hand on her shoulder.

'You okay? Didn't freeze your butt off out here while waiting for us?'

Allegra smiled, and turned to him.

'Nah. I think he should be okay. I wasn't ever good at first aid, and he looks pretty badly beaten up, but he should live.'

Nate chuckled, and then, there was a call from the snow mobile.

'Allegra! Get over here now! Psymon's on his way out!'

Allegra's eyes widened. Taking two powerful strides, she pushed off, skidding across the packed but slippery ice and over to the snow mobile. The slide was like snowboarding, except without the board.

'What is it?' she swung herself up next to Viggo, who was looking intently at the heart portable heart monitor.

'We may be losing him. His wounds are…real bad.' Griff sounded young and scared, like a real nine year old who had no idea how to react to a situation like this.

'He needs blood, but it's dangerous for us to donate any because we aren't AB-'s,' said the doctor, who Allegra knew as Dr Au, who was sitting at Psymon's head. 'We need you, Allegra, because you're an AB- as well.'

Allegra felt her head spin as Nate climbed up behind her.

Mac, Moby and Zoe had managed to get up the walls and had gone back with the Osprey, and now it was just Allegra, Nate, Viggo, Griff, Dr Aur and Psymon, who looked cold, dead and ghostly.

Psymon hadn't volunteered to donate blood for her when she had needed the transfusion last year. He hadn't even shown up for questioning afterwards. He had quite literally left her to die, and now he needed her more than ever.

Allegra bit her lip.

After everything she had learnt, she had learnt the most to forgive. Forgiveness was the hardest thing to give in some situations, but now, Allegra thought about all of those blood tests she'd had to have.

The memory came back to her, as she remembered how the doctors couldn't find the veins in her arms, and when they had, they couldn't get enough blood without rupturing something in her arms.

This time it wasn't hard to give forgiveness, because words came easily for Allegra. This time, the hardest thing to give was blood.

Rolling up her arm, she extended it uncertainly for Dr Aur to take.

'Try. But I don't bleed easy for needles.' She said quietly, and Dr Aur prepared the needle quickly.

Suddenly, the heart monitor began beeping faster.

'Hurry!' Viggo cried. 'We're losing him!'


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

The Kind Of, "See You Later," Goodbye.

Allegra sat outside the ward, waiting for the doctors to finish inside.

She felt useless. She had only been able to donate six millilitres of blood – hardly enough. She could only hope that it had been.

Her stomach was twisted up with worry and confusion. Shaking her head, Allegra listened to the voices inside the hospital ward.

Finally, after another ten minutes, the doctors came out, smiling at her and telling her to go in.

She stepped inside uncertainly, and saw Moby lounging in one of the chairs by the bed, and Psymon sitting up, fidgeting with the tubes that were hooked up his nose.

'You okay?' she asked, and Psymon looked up to see her.

He gave a quirky, Psymon-like smile, and nodded.

'He'd speak if he didn't have tubes shoved up his nose,' Moby translated knowingly, and Psymon nodded again.

Allegra placed the small photo on the bedside.

It was of Psymon and his parents, when he was about six or seven.

'I…found it. In your room.' Allegra whispered as Psymon took the photo and studied it.

Moby stood.

'I'll tell the rest of the team his progress,' he told Allegra, and she nodded as he left without another word.

She took Moby's vacated seat, and sighed. She could feel Psymon's gaze on her, and then she heard hoarsely,

'Why did you do it?'

Allegra looked, and saw Psymon pulling the plugs from his nostrils, making an "ick" face at them.

'Put them back, dipshit,' Allegra said, and Psymon just shrugged, putting them on the surface of the bedside.

'Who cares? I'll be outa here soon enough.' He said carelessly, and Allegra sighed again.

'You need those. That is if you want to live,' she thought back to what he had said in the trench, and bit her lip.

'So what? Now answer me.' Psymon looked over at her, but she didn't meet his gaze.

Allegra took a deep breath.

'Well, I guess I didn't want to look like a failure to the others. They were worried about you. And I guess I was too.' She admitted.

Psymon's mouth quirked into a mischievous grin, and his said snidely,

'What, just a bit? Is that all, Big Al? Not too upset that I'd given up on myself?'

Allegra looked up angrily.

'No. You haven't got a clue about the grief you've put everyone through. Zoe was _crying_, for Gods sake.'

This caused Psymon's eyebrows to rise slightly, and he chuckled deviously.

'Maybe I should try it again some time.' He joked, and Allegra felt disgusted.

'Retard – you never learn,' she snorted.

Psymon rolled his eyes and let out a long, deep breath.

'They can't keep me here, Al. My skin crawls at the disinfectanty smell, my nose has tubes stuck up it, my finger's jammed in this monitor thingy,' he held up his finger that was encased by the pulse monitor, and then continued. 'I hate this place. If I could be someone else, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But then again, I've gotten myself into this shit in the first place, so I deserve the consequence.'

Allegra shook her head.

'You are not going to try that stunt again. If Elise finds out…' she said firmly, but her voice trailed off into a murmur as Psymon laughed weakly.

'Elise? The slut's got more for her than I ever had. Deserves it too. Geez, Al, I won't be as good as Elise in the long run, because, you know, she's not the devil-head. I am.'

Allegra sighed as Psymon fell silent.

'Elise looks up to you like your some kind of god. She doesn't show it, but she really does, Psymon. Elise has a tough outer skin but a softer inside.'

Psymon grinned, the scratches on his face stretching.

'Aren't all girls softer inside than out?'

Allegra groaned.

'I don't mean like that, dimbulb. You know what I mean. And if you're going to be like this then I'll…' she got up, purposefully trailing off as Psymon watched her, a small smile sketched across his Canuck face.

'Allegra,' he said quietly, the quietest he'd ever spoken. This made Allegra stop and turn back to him.

'Yeah?'

Psymon shrugged.

'It's…nothing. I'll be outa here in a couple of days. See you at the Hut.'

Allegra nodded, and then left Psymon without a sound.

Walking back down the hall, she wondered if Psymon would be okay. If he was still suicidal, then he may try again.

She went out into the parking lot, where a light snow was covering the ground.

Her snowboard leant up against the bike rack, and she tugged it out of the rails gently.

Running her fingers over it, she sighed.

'If he kills himself it's his own fault,' she murmured to no one in particular, and then strapped her feet into the footholds.

Pushing off from the bike rack, Allegra skated out of the parking lot and down the road, carving a single board track through the snow as she went.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Back At Base.

A day later, Psymon came back.

He shouldered past everyone, refusing to look at any of them, especially Allegra, and made his way to his room.

Kaori kept sending Allegra glances of confusion, but Allegra could only return them.

Even Griff had gone quiet, taking to spending his days with Mac, Zoe, Allegra, Nate and Elise on the circuits.

Moby slouched around inside, occasionally joining the other out in the snow and on the circuits just to whip their butts.

Viggo had been contacting his parents a lot lately, keeping them up to date, and had also joined the rest of the team in either training or just mess-about.

Allegra was always trying to find out why Psymon had been so silent, and finally, she bunched up her nerve and went to his door.

Knocking quietly, she could hear soft thumps emerging from his room.

'Psymon?'

The thumping stopped, and she pushed open the door.

Psymon's room was a mess. His cases were lying on the unmade bed, with clothes strewn everywhere, some in the case, others hanging over the closet doors, and some were even on the light shade that hung from the ceiling.

Psymon himself was different, wearing a travelling jacket instead of his normal bikie-leather one.

'Psymon?' Allegra asked again, stepping over his snowboard that lay on the floor. 'What are you trying to do? Make a miniature whirlwind in here?'

Psymon sighed, and turned to her from the window.

'No. I'm leaving.' He mumbled.

Allegra's breath caught in her throat. Psymon? Leaving? Why?

'But why?' she asked, edging her way around a desk chair to get slightly closer to him.

Psymon shrugged.

'I give up. If you won't allow me to end this, then I won't snowboard. Never again.'

Allegra's hands curled into fists.

'But you can't!' she cried, frowning up at him. 'You're…you're a champion! You can't leave us now! Not before the Peak Two race in five weeks!'

Psymon raised his eyebrows at her, and she shrunk back a bit, but he stepped closer.

'Why do you think that?' he asked, and she thought she saw anger flare up in his eyes. But if it had, it was gone as soon as it had come.

'Because…you're…' she trailed off, noticing that his face was getting closer to hers.

'Tell me, Big Al.' he said quietly, and Allegra tried to stumble back, but Psymon grabbed her wrist, wringing it tightly until she winced in pain, and then he relaxed his grip. Only slightly.

'Don't make me thump you,' she growled, glaring defiantly at him.

Psymon shoved her in the shoulder. She slapped his hand away, and he grinned, but let go of her wrist.

'Aw – precious little Al – ' he said. 'Are you afraid of me?'

'Who wants to know?' she asked, glaring up into his eyes defiantly. 'Do you really think I am?'

'You're a tough nut to crack, Al.' He grinned. Allegra punched him, and he took the blow, although it did leave him slightly winded.

Allegra left him there.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Stars and Wishes

Allegra knocked on Griff's door, and there was a muffled reply.

'Can I come in, Griff?'

Something unintelligible from beyond the door was said, and then there was a louder reply, and Allegra opened the door.

She was attacked by a scruffy blond force that tackled her leg as she came through the door, and stumbled back, still slightly dizzy from the whole episode with Psymon.

'Griff!' she cried, trying to regain her footing, and hearing Viggo's maniac laughter from inside the room.

'Big Al!' Griff shouted, his voice bouncing off the walls. 'How's Psymon?'

Allegra shrugged. 'He's fine.'

Her head was spinning, and all she wanted was some fresh air…suddenly, Viggo was at her elbow.

'You look like you need some fresh, sweet, pure mountain air,' he said, grabbing her hand. 'Let's get out on the circuit for a bit.'

Allegra was more than happy to be dragged out of Griff's room, and heard the chuckles and laughs from the others as she and Viggo sprinted for the kitchen, grabbing up their boards on the way through the hallway.

Once out in the air, Allegra saw the last rays of sunlight shining through the trees.

'C'mon,' Viggo called, leading the way down the slope. 'We can catch the last of the sun before it sets properly.'

Allegra stopped, strapped herself in, and jumped high, getting up some speed. She sped down around Viggo, who laughed and stopped to strap himself into his bindings, too.

'Gonna getcha!' he yelled, and her laughter seemed to ricochet off the mountainside.

'No ya not!' she called back, and swerved to miss him.

He was so different when he wasn't on the circuit. If he wasn't snowboarding, there was an air of definite coolness and control, but if he was freeriding, he had a looser, carefree attitude.

Allegra was so caught in thinking about it she didn't see him coming.

Viggo slammed into her, knocking her flat into the snow, his laughter shaking them and her yells and swearing making him laugh more.

They struggled with each other, playing like children in the snow, shoving handfuls of it into each other's faces.

Suddenly, something made them stop. Allegra realized that her face was very close to Viggo's, only a few inches away.

He was lying across her, and he lifted himself up slightly so she wasn't pinned.

'Al?' his voice was hesitant, and Allegra smiled.

'I remember,' she said quietly. 'When I met the guy I thought I would spend the rest of my life with.'

Viggo grinned. 'Bet he wasn't half as gawky as me.'

Allegra laughed self-consciously. 'You're not gawky. He was…sort of like you. But he was…different.'

She sighed.

'I wish I knew how to – to get a girl,' Viggo said, sitting up and allowing Allegra to sit up next to him. 'I've…never really noticed girls…until now, I guess.'

Allegra smiled. 'I don't think that you'd have any trouble with girls. But – then again, that's just me. And trust me, I'm different from a lot of girls.'

Viggo smiled, and Allegra felt herself leaning in close to Viggo. Their noses bumped, and then, their lips touched.

Viggo's mouth was soft and warm against hers, gentle, like Connor's had been, different from his…but still oddly comforting. It was like Viggo understood her, and without words they could become even closer.

They broke apart, but their faces were still close. Allegra nestled her head into Viggo's shoulder, and his face pressed lightly into her beanie where it covered her hair.

'I think that it's good to be different,' Viggo whispered, and Allegra nodded.

'There goes the sun,' she said quietly. Viggo looked up, and Allegra smiled up at him as they watched the last rays of the sun sink below the horizon.

'My older sister and I always used to watch the stars come out,' Viggo said, looking like he was lost in memory. Then, he snapped out of it. 'Did you ever do that kind of thing?'

Allegra nodded, smiling at the memory.

_Connor had told Allegra about watching the stars appearing in the sky from by their swimming pool, and the awesome view._

_Allegra had agreed to watch the stars come out, and then, just like that, they were leaning towards each other, trying to see where the other pointed if a star suddenly appeared._

'Yeah,' she said, thinking about Connor. His floppy, golden hair. His strong, tough arms encircling her. His bright green eyes, seeming to grin at her like his lopsided smile. 'Con and me used to do that heaps of the time. Whenever it wasn't raining and when we could see the stars.'

Viggo swallowed, and Allegra sat back, away from him slightly so she could see his face. It was almost sad, but he didn't look too upset.

'Dad stopped watching the stars with us after I turned seven,' he murmured. 'I dunno why. He and Mum had some kind of fight. I didn't know what to do, but Mum didn't come out with me that night.'

Allegra frowned. 'Do you think that it had…'

'Something to do with my recent failure at school?' Viggo finished, and Allegra shook her head, surprised, but kept listening. He sighed, and looked out at the setting sun. 'Yeah it was probably that. I'd been off-colour for a while before they fought. I guess that my school reports had been worsening, and they were both on tight strings about me.'

Allegra smiled gently, and slid her hand into Viggo's. He glanced at her, surprised, but then smiled back and squeezed her hand.

It felt good to be like this with someone again, Allegra thought. Even if they weren't Connor.

'You know,' she said quietly, leaning back against Viggo. 'When I met Connor, I thought he was pretty dorky.'

Viggo scoffed. 'Some guy.'

Allegra laughed against his shoulder. 'Yep. But when I found that he'd been a hard-core snowboarder like me, it kind of changed. We sat together at lunch in school, did our homework together. We talked, and…we hung out with other guys.'

Viggo shifted, and Allegra looked up at him again. He lay back in the snow, and she lay back on the snow next to him, watching the darkening sky.

'Did you…love him?' he asked, and Allegra sighed.

'I…yeah. I did. But then he did this stunt on his snowboard and he lost control of his board,' she felt her throat tighten a bit. 'It was what killed him.'

Viggo turned his head so that he was looking at her. 'Looks like you've got guys falling over you left and right.'

Allegra smiled grimly. 'Kind of. I guess that I just don't notice them that much, seeing as I hang with them more than I go out with them. Like, way more.'

The sun had disappeared, and the stars were popping out, one by one.

'Look over there!' Viggo pointed at a brightly shining star, and Allegra felt herself slipping back into the past. When she used to do that with Connor.

'Al? You okay? You're crying.' Viggo's concerned voice jerked her back to the present.

'Wha…' Allegra mumbled, letting go of Viggo's hand to wipe away the evidence of the tears. 'It's nothing. Just remembering.'

Viggo nodded.

'We have to be getting back soon,' he said, making a face. 'I wish…'

He didn't finish, and Allegra sat up, giving him a hand and pulling him to his feet. Brushing the snow off of her, she grabbed up her snowboard and handed him his.

'We all wish, Viggo,' she whispered, and Viggo nodded sadly.

'I know.'


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Christmas – You Mean, Like, "Ho, Ho, Ho?"

'C'mere!'

'Nooo!'

'Griff! Quit wriggling, already! You have to wear the beanie!'

'Don't wannoo! Leggo! Leeeeeeese!'

Allegra tried not to smirk as she watched Elise struggling to get the beanie over Griff's already messy hair. He kept worming his way out of her grasp, and finally, Zoe took him by the arm, sat him down on the bed in front of her, and wrapped her legs around his middle.

Griff was yelling at Zoe, but she pinned his arms to his side as Nate held his head still for Elise to pull the beanie on.

'Noooooooo! Don't need a beanie! Leggo, leggo! Eleeeeeeeese!' he cried, and Viggo wrestled him out of Zoe's grip.

'Leave him alone, guys,' he said, wrapping his arms around Griff. 'He's just a kid.'

Elise groaned, sweeping back her long, dishevelled ponytail back into place. 'He's just a little horror. And he's even worse when there's only me around.'

Griff blew a raspberry at Elise, and then squirmed from Viggo's arms and crawled into Allegra's lap.

'Do I have to wear a beanie?' he whined, and Allegra grinned.

'Yep. Sorry, kiddo. Unless, of course, you feel like freezing your ears off. Then I'll consider making Elise take it off.'

Elise scoffed. 'Like that's gonna happen anytime soon.'

Griff harrumphed. 'No one needs both ears.'

From across Elise's room, Kaori went pale as she perched on Elise's desk. 'I do. I couldn't stand having to listen with only one ear.' She shuddered, and then got up and left.

Mac shivered from by the door. 'I second that notion.'

Viggo grinned and slapped Griff a high five. 'You should go into business, man,' he said, and Griff laughed. 'Griff's Wondrous Ways to Make People Sick!'

Allegra rolled her eyes, and shrugged herself out from under Griff. 'You lot are a bunch of punks,' she muttered. 'Some business that would be.'

'Fairly R-rated,' Nate agreed, straightening his travelling jacket. 'But then again, Griff wouldn't know.'

'Come on, guys,' Zoe said, pulling on a trench coat. 'The Christmas Pageant isn't gonna come to us.'

Allegra grinned. 'Shouldn't we be going some time soon so we can get a good spot?'

'I'll drive,' Viggo offered, but Elise groaned again.

'No.' she said firmly. 'And _no_, Moby, you are not driving!' she added pointedly, throwing a deathly glance over at Moby, who was seated on the window ledge.

'Why not?' he asked, pretending to examine his nails. 'I thought I did a good job last time.'

'Yeah – and nearly killed us,' Nate mocked. '_Suuure_ you're just _great_ at driving. NOT!'

Allegra laughed with the others as she shrugged her arms into a borrowed trench coat. She had borrowed one of Zoe's many long coats, and had donned her favourite black beanie for the occasion.

'Right,' said Elise, finally heading for the door. 'We all ready? Where's Kaori and Psymon?'

Nate snorted, and the door opened before Elise could grab the handle.

Kaori was standing in the doorway, wrapped in a traditional winter kimono.

'Well?' she said hopefully, stepping into the room, her brightly patterned and coloured robes falling gracefully around her. 'Is it okay?'

Allegra gave her a thumbs-up signal. 'That is…wow, Kaori.'

Moby gave a smooth whistle, and Kaori blushed. Mac clapped enthusiastically, and Griff and Viggo were cheering. Nate, Elise and Zoe were wearing smiling approvingly.

Psymon appeared in the doorway behind Kaori, wearing a ripped jacket, dark jeans that had seen better days, and had a Christmas hat hanging off one of his gelled spikes of hair.

'Wow,' Viggo said. 'Nice work, Kaori. Looks like you even managed to dress up Psymon.'

Kaori giggled, and looked back at Psymon. 'I could only really get him to wear the hat. He flat out refused to wear the suit and stuff pillows up his shirt.'

'I ain't fat,' he grumbled, and Allegra laughed.

'Sure you're not,' she said, shoving him cheerfully out of the way as she followed Elise out the door. 'It's all your hair. It makes you look…'

'Poofy!' Griff cried, trying to reach the bobble on the end of Psymon's hat. 'Kind of poofy, anyway.'

'Geeroff, kid.' He muttered darkly, making the bobble swing around crazily.

'Come on, retards,' Zoe said, grabbing the scruff of Griff's collar and dragging him out the door. 'We've got a pageant to go to. Dave's orders.'

'Why Dave's?' Nate groaned. 'He makes us join in like, _every_ community event.'

Mac shrugged. 'Maybe it gives the crowds a good impression of us.' He fumbled for the door handle of the front door, and Allegra saw his hands tremble.

She came up behind him.

'You okay?' she hissed, opening the door for him. Mac smiled nervously at her.

'Yeah – it's fine. Just me M.S,' he mumbled, and then stood back for the others to go through.

Allegra kept an eye on Mac throughout the whole trip. His hands had stopped trembling once they had gotten into the van, but then again, Allegra couldn't tell because he'd shoved his hands deep into his jacket pocket.

Dave, who was travelling with them to the pageant, gave them an outline of the evening to come.

They could all stay until the end unless they all agreed to leave earlier. Elise caught Allegra's eye and rolled and exasperated glance her way, as if to say, _like that's gonna happen._

Allegra grinned and nodded, and then went back to watching Mac.

The trip into town was quiet until they reached the heart of the town, and then Allegra saw the festive season beginning to fill the streets.

Lights and bauble strings hung from the telephone lines and across the front of shops and houses; light-up pictures shone out at them from the windows; snow was drifting slowly down to rest on footpaths and sidewalks.

Dave pulled the van over into a parking lot at the back of the park where a band was setting up the entertainment after the pageant.

'Here you go,' he said, getting out and opening the sliding door for them to climb out onto the tarmac. 'And I want you all to have fun! Go on!'

They all grinned and said goodbye, before darting off towards the main street where the pageant would parade.

As they settled themselves on some grass that overlooked the street, Allegra listened to the jingles being played over the loudspeaker.

She sat with her back to Mac, leaning against him, and then she heard Psymon mutter,

'Baa-humbug.'


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Show Stoppers

After the pageant, Allegra glanced at the new watch she'd bought the other day.

It was about eight-thirty, and the crowd was moving to the park where the concert would be.

'C'mon,' Mac nudged her, and then pulled her to her feet. 'Let's go.'

Zoe and Elise led the way, and Nate and Viggo brought up the rear, herding everyone else in the middle.

Once in the park, everyone crowded around them to get good spots. Occasionally, someone would recognize them and call out or wave.

One family even asked for Allegra's autograph, and she hesitated before glancing at Mac, who was at her shoulder.

'We'll both do it,' he said, and she nodded and took the pen that the child of the family offered.

Allegra thought for a moment, and then Mac took the pen and signed,

"_Walking The Dog."_

'What?' Allegra asked as Mac handed the pen to her. 'Walking the dog?'

Mac grinned. 'It's my Uber Signature,' he said cheerfully. 'You should think up one, too.'

Allegra thought, and then quickly signed,

"_Capo Air."_

Mac nodded approvingly as he looked at what she'd signed. 'Sweet.'

She handed the piece of paper and then pen back to the family, and watched them head off into the crowd, the child looking ecstatic with joy.

'Well,' Nate said into her ear. 'That's one good deed done today. Make a child happy. I like it.'

Allegra reached around and thumped him in the chest. 'Get over yourself.'

Nate laughed and went to stand with Moby, who was standing impassively while watching everything going on around him, occasionally nudging Psymon and pointing at something to laugh at.

As the evening wore on, and the shadows slowly grew, candles were lit, and held up in the air. Viggo, who was standing next to Allegra and Griff, knelt down and scooped Griff up onto his shoulders, and Allegra handed Griff a lit candle.

Griff beamed down at them, and Allegra grinned back, then she turned to look for Elise.

She saw a flash of Elise's blond hair a little way off, closer to the road. That wasn't right…twisting around, Allegra saw Elise standing with Zoe and Kaori, waving candles along with the rest of the crowd.

'Elise?' Allegra spun around to wear the flash of blond had come from, and saw the one person she hoped she wouldn't have to for a long time.

Marisol was standing with a crowd of men, next to a large van, right next to the road.

'Aw, crud,' Allegra muttered.

'Problem?' Viggo nudged her, still supporting Griff on his shoulders.

Allegra pointed. 'Marisol. See her?'

Viggo craned his neck to see Elise's cousin, and Griff looked down at them, confused.

'What're you doing?' he asked, still holding up his candle.

'Marisol,' Viggo murmured. 'Hang on, kid.'

He swung Griff down, and then knelt in front of him. 'Griff, go tell the others. Tell them that Marisol is here, and she's with a lot of guys.' He stood and Griff ran off. Viggo turned to Allegra.

'We have to see why she's here,' Allegra said, and Viggo nodded.

Tossing a glance behind them, Allegra saw Kaori's eyes widen, and then saw her friend search the crowd for Marisol.

Elise looked outraged, and the others either looked shocked, angry, or unbelieving. Allegra rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for that. She wove her way through the crowd with Viggo until they ducked behind a stall selling apple-toffees, and had a clear view of Marisol and the men she was with.

'What's in the back of the van?' Viggo whispered to her, and Allegra shook her head.

'I don't know…we have to distract them to find out.' She looked at Viggo, her eyebrows raised in apprehension.

Viggo grinned evilly, and pulled out one of the accessories that he had acquired out of his pocket.

It was a small, wind up bat, remote controlled. He pulled out the remote control, and set the bat down on the stall ledge.

'Can I get you something?' a kind faced woman looked down at them crouching behind the stall.

Allegra shook her head.

'No thanks,' she said sweetly. 'Oh – ' she caught Griff's pleading eye. '– could you get that kid over there – ' she pointed over at Griff – 'A toffee-apple, please? I did promise him one.'

'I'll pay,' Viggo said, digging into his pockets for change. The woman smiled and nodded, fishing out an apple-toffee to give to Griff.

Viggo handed over the change, and the old woman smiled again.

'Thank you, kids,' she said, and then hurried to deliver the sweet. Griff's face lit up as she handed it to him, and he blew a sweet, sticky air-kiss at Viggo and Allegra.

They grinned and gave him a thumbs-up signal in return.

'Go,' Allegra hissed, serious again, and Viggo set the mini bat into motion.

He directed it carefully through the crowd, careful not to let anyone see it until it was right next to Marisol's ear.

He pressed a button on the remote, and Allegra listened as the bat made a sharp, tinny whining sound straight into Marisol's ear.

She winced, and then turned, angry, swiping at it. Viggo wiggled the joystick up, and the bat flitted up out of the way.

He pulled the joystick around again, and the bat came at Marisol again, and Allegra smuggled a laugh as it looked as through the bat was trying to bite Marisol's neck.

She shrieked and waved her hands in the air, hitting a nearby bystander.

The bystander turned around and said something sharp to Marisol, and Marisol shouted at him in response.

Viggo was still manoeuvring the little bat, this time making it dart around the men Marisol was with, who tried to slap it between their hands like a fly or mosquito.

'Hey!' Allegra heard one say, and then, Viggo rammed the joystick forward. The bat lunged at one man, and he stumbled back, off balance.

He bumped into someone, and they turned, telling him to watch it. Allegra snuck a sideways glance at Viggo, whose face was one of delight and pure evil. For the greater good, Allegra decided.

He operated the bat so it attacked more people close by, disrupting the candle waving. Marisol and the men she was with were starting to pack up, and suddenly, Allegra saw her chance to act.

'Wait here,' she murmured to Viggo, and then sprinted from her hiding place, her calves shouting in protest.

The men swung open the back doors to the van, and Allegra saw what was inside.

_Oh. My. God…_she thought, her heart speeding up.

As they piled in, one of the men saw her and said something quickly to Marisol who was standing close by.

Marisol swung around and saw Allegra, who stopped dead in her tracks.

One of the men pulled out a rifle, and Allegra ducked instinctively. He fired several shots, reloading with quick precision. Allegra heard the screams echoing in her ears as the van pulled away, saw the concert crowd cowering away from the violent noise of the gun shots.

Viggo was suddenly by her shoulder, gripping her arm and dragging her to her feet.

His voice was distant in her ear, but she could vaguely see his mouth moving.

Something hard hit her shoulder, and suddenly, the rest of the group was towering over her, their faces masks of horror and distraught.

Someone was ushering them away, telling them to move away from her.

Allegra realized that she was lying on the ground, and struggled to sit up. But her left wrist sent pain streaking up her arm, and she winced, wanting to lie still.

Everything around her was becoming hazy, but there was one face that remained clear. Allegra didn't know where she'd seen him before, and it didn't look familiar.

Who was he? Did she know him? His face was drawn and concerned, and his mouth was moving slowly, saying gentle words that Allegra couldn't hear.

He stroked stray hair off her sweating forehead, and Allegra tried to move again. This time, though, searing cold spiralled up her wrist and through her fingers.

She stopped moving again, and lay still.

The man was still there, soothing her and pressing the cold stuff onto her wrist. Allegra wanted to scream; the pressure of the cold stuff felt like it was shattering her wrist.

Maybe her wrist was shattered… Allegra found herself drifting between consciousness and sleep, feeling sleep winning the battle of silent wills.

The man leaned over her and gently brushed her eyelids closed with his gentle but strong fingers even before she was totally unconscious.


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Something For Someone

If this was death, Allegra decided, then it was a bad way to go.

She rose slowly from unconsciousness, and could hear a steady _blip, blip, _from somewhere above her right ear.

Her nose felt stuffed, and her right arm was feeling as if a million pins were stabbing her endlessly.

Cracking open her eyes a slit, Allegra was suddenly aware of the stiff cardboard under her body.

She saw a white washed room, with another bed opposite, occupied by an unsmiling little girl with a drip in her arm.

Suppressing a groan, Allegra opened her eyes wider and realized that she was in a stiff hospital bed, not on a hard piece of cardboard. Looking down at her right arm, she saw several needles pinned into the crease of her elbow, slowly drawing blood.

A drip was attached her left arm, and looking down at her wrist, Allegra saw it wrapped in a heavy cast.

'Wha…' she mumbled, and suddenly a small voice came from across the room.

'Are you sick like me?'

Snapping her head up, feeling her neck tinge, Allegra winced and then looked bluntly at the little girl.

'What do you mean?' she asked and the little girl folded her arms across her chest, huffing quietly.

'I'm sick,' she said, and then hiccuped. 'I got a tooth pick in me froat.'

Allegra cast her eyes over the girl, and judged her to be about six or seven. 'What a way to spend Christmas,' she muttered, and the girl looked at her interestedly.

'I got a teddy to have here,' she said, pointing to the stuffed toy bear sitting on the bedside table. 'My Auntie gave it to me.'

Allegra nodded slowly. 'Right. Um…I'm Al.'

The little girl nodded. 'My name's Felicity. They won't let me go home until after I've stayed for anudder two nights. But I'm not scared. I got my teddy.'

She pulled the bear off the bedside, and cradled it close. 'Why don't you have a teddy?' she demanded.

Allegra smiled and shook her head. 'I don't need one. Hey – were there some…people in here a while ago?' she asked, wondering where the other of the team were.

Felicity nodded. 'I saw them. They were saying your name again and again. They wouldn't be quiet so the docta ordered them out. Said I needed quiet.' She pointed proudly up at the ward sign above her bed. It read: KEEP QUIET PLEASE.

Allegra sat up, flexing her left fingers gently, getting used to the heavy weight of the cast, and feeling a twinge of pain shoot through her hand. 'I think it's broken. Man – hey, how long have I been here?'

Felicity shrugged. 'I dunno. You weren't here this morning. When will you go? I like having someone to talk to.'

Allegra looked out the window, only to see pitch black. 'It must still be Christmas eve,' she murmured. 'Who – '

'Allegra!'

Kaori burst into the room, still in her kimono, and flung herself at Allegra. Allegra managed to catch her before she sent them both tumbling off the other end of the bed.

Elise and Nate were behind her, followed closely by Mac, Griff and Viggo. Zoe and Moby hung back in the doorway.

'Guys!' Allegra choked, trying to disentangle Kaori's arms from around her neck. 'What happened out there?'

'You got shot in the wrist,' Elise explained. 'JP was quick to react.'

Allegra frowned, and Kaori sat back. 'JP – ' she began, but Allegra stopped her.

'Was he the guy who shot me? Was the van stopped?' she demanded, and Zoe snorted.

'No.' she said. 'Like any good villain, they all got away clean. No trace was found, even though the incident is all over the news.'

Nate switched on the T.V posted above Allegra's bed, and then turned on the news.

Allegra watched as a serious faced news reporter speaking directly to the camera.

'_Today we are greeted by the horrifying news of a terrorist attack on one of this years snowboarding finalists, Miss Allegra Sauvagess._

_She and the other ten competitors were visiting the Colorado Christmas Pageant when she saw one of her former coaches._

_Upon going up to the coach, Mrs Marisol Jennings, Allegra was violently attacked by a nearby man who was wielding a rifle._

_The man, said to be a partially insane snowboarding competitor himself, has pleaded guilty to this incident and was placed in custody.'_

The screen changed as a photo of the man appeared, and Allegra took a moment to register who she was looking at.

'Psymon?' she cried, and Felicity frowned, pointing up to the sign above her hospital bed.

'Shh,' she said, but Allegra ignored her.

'Psymon said he did this? He…'

Zoe nodded from the doorway, her face set like a hard rock. The tight atmosphere around her was enough to put Allegra on edge. Even Zoe's spiky dog collar, which had always seemed harmless and fun, now had a sharp tinge to it, as if it could actually be fairly dangerous.

'Yes. He said that he was responsible for what happened, therefore keeping everything under wraps.' She said, and Moby's frown deepened.

'He's having an emergency trial in a couple of days, on the account of pleaded insanity and assault on a champion snowboarder.' Moby looked like he wished that he could do something to get Psymon out of his situation, but knowing that he couldn't.

Suddenly, Allegra's mobile vibrated for the first time in ages.

Flipping it open, she looked at the sender.

**To: Big Al**

**From: Tom-Boy**

**Subject:**

Wot the fuc iz goin on? Ur faiz iz plastrd all ovr da newz! Sed u broke ur rist or sumfin in an atac. Wer u atacd? By hoo? TELL ME! REPLY!

Allegra winced at the words, knowing that she couldn't deny them.

'Who is it?' Zoe asked, her frown deepening.

Allegra bit her lip. 'My neighbour. Apparently my face is all over the news.'

Nate snorted. 'Tell them that their right, and that you're fine. Just…I dunno, tell them everything is under control.'

Allegra nodded, and then flipped the phone open again, opening a new message page.

**To: Tom-Boy**

**From: Big Al**

**Subject:**

I'm fine. Look, I'm doin grate. Don't worry. BTW, I woz injurd but it woz an acident.

1 of da guyz I woz wif took 1 2 mani beers and got drunk. C u l8tr, & Meri X-mas!

She sent the text, and then flipped her phone closed. Just replying to the call was costing a lot of credit.

She looked up at Viggo, who shook his head apologetically.

'I'm sorry, Al,' he whispered. 'I didn't mean to get you shot. That wasn't a really great diversion.'

Allegra shook her head in return, trying to smile. 'Nah – it was me. All me.'

She bit her lip, because sometimes, when she looked at Viggo in a certain light, he reminded her of Connor. A lot. When Viggo's over-long blonde hair fell across his eyes, Allegra could see an image of Connor in her mind. When Viggo was drawing – the intent look on his face as he tried to get the proportions of the character right – Allegra couldn't help but see Connor's concentrating face.

Viggo shrugged.

'No,' he corrected. 'If I had been quicker – '

'I would probably still have gotten a broken wrist,' Allegra cut him off, and then flexed her hand slightly. 'How bad?'

Kaori smiled carefully. 'JP thinks that you only clipped a little bit of shot, but it was enough to snap your wrist bone.' She said.

Allegra frowned, confused, and Elise sighed and jumped in.

'JP was one of the original SSX Team. He was one of the founders, along with me, Kaori, Moby and Psymon,' she said. 'And he wants to meet you. Says that you've got a strong heartbeat, for the most part.'

Allegra rolled her eyes. 'Whatever,' she muttered. 'When do I get out here? Where are they keeping Psymon?'

Griff came up to the side of the bed, and hopped up next to her. 'The doctor said that whenever you feel stable, you can go. He said that he'd feel bad about keeping you here over Christmas.'

Allegra frowned. 'Maybe those idiots at wherever Psymon's being held should at least try to feel the same occasionally.'

Elise snorted.

'Sure – and let everyone out for the two days of Christmas? Do you realize how many of those freaking jokers are _murderers? _Think about it: "The Great Christmas Disaster! Thousands of Murderers Running Amok"!' She said dramatically, as if she was the news presenter on the television.

Allegra rolled her eyes again and tried to get up, out of the stiff hospital bed. 'Whatever – hey, I'm ready to go whenever you guys are.'


	51. Chapter 51

**Part Five:** _Nothing Broken But My Ego…_ Chapter 51

Christmas As An Inmate – Not As Fun As They Say

Allegra was let out of hospital later that night.

'I can't believe that Psymon really did that for you,' Kaori murmured as they were driving back to the Hut around midnight. 'He wouldn't have done something like that for one of us.'

Allegra nodded absentmindedly. Why had Psymon taken the blame? Moby and Zoe had headed off to what they called "the place where Psymon was being held", and had said not to wait up for them.

Griff was cradled into her side, and from the seat behind her in the van, Mac had his hand resting on her shoulder.

Viggo was on Allegra's other side, his own arm slung around her shoulders. Nate was driving, not saying much, and Kaori sat next to him in the passenger seat.

Elise had taken to the back of the van, and like Nate, she only said very little. When they pulled up at the Hut, she was the first out, and she soon disappeared upstairs.

'What's up with Elise?' Allegra asked Nate as they trudged inside. Nate shrugged.

'Dunno. Anyway, this ain't the spirit to be in just before Christmas. Zoe said that Psymon will be allowed visitors tomorrow, and presents are allowed. You going to go and see him?'

Allegra thought for a moment as she watched Kaori and Mac, Griff laid across Mac's arms; head upstairs to their own rooms as well.

'Maybe…' she said offhandedly. 'I don't know yet…' she picked absently at the cast on her wrist. 'I think I'll hit the sack, too.'

Nate nodded, and Viggo came in from outside, shaking snow out of his hair.

'See ya tomorrow, Al.' Nate said, and then headed up before her.

Viggo locked the door behind him, and Allegra turned to the stairs as well. She paused, thinking of something.

'Viggo?'

Viggo looked around at her.

'Yo?'

'Do you think…' she began, not quite sure whether or not to continue. 'Don't you think that I should call my parents? Wish them merry Christmas and tell them I'm okay?'

Viggo sighed, and shrugged, looking non-decisive.

'I dunno,' he said, and he came over, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. 'But if you think that's what's right…then, well…yeah.'

Allegra nodded.

'Thanks, Viggo.' She reached up, and he leaned down. Their lips met briefly, lingering against each other's skin, before Allegra heard someone cough on the stairs.

She whirled, and saw Nate leaning against the wall, his eyebrows raised and his arms folded across his chest.

'Uhh…'

'Mistletoe,' Viggo pointed above them, and Allegra looked up. He was right. A sprig of mistletoe hung from the place at the base of the stairs, and Nate rolled his eyes.

'Suuure,' he drawled, and then turned and headed back up the stairs. Allegra looked back at Viggo.

'Clever ploy,' she said, and Viggo grinned.

'Yeah,' he answered. 'It's sort of…SSX Team tradition. Like Kaori's kimono. Except, well…more dignified.'

Allegra laughed, and then turned to the stairway.

'I'd…better go to bed…' she said, and Viggo nodded.

'Yeah. Night, man.'

That next morning, Allegra woke early, and headed down to the police station.

She was greeted with a warm welcome and a "Merry Christmas" from the operating sergeant, who was round and plump. Not the sort of guy who works out every morning, Allegra couldn't help guessing.

'How can I help a snowboarder such as you on this beautiful Christmas day?' he asked cheerfully, and Allegra bit her lip, hoping she was in the right place.

'Can I…' she began, gathering courage. 'Could I perhaps see where the man Psymon Stark is being held?'

The operating sergeant cast a suspicious look over Allegra's cast, and then looked down at some documents on the desk in front of him.

'Well,' he drawled in a thick Texan accent. 'We have strict order's that Mr Stark is only allowed a couple of visitors today, after what he claimed to do to you, ma'am.'

Allegra swallowed. It made sense. Her face had been all over the news, and the police weren't idiots, for sure.

'But I suppose that he can see you now,' the sergeant murmured, half to himself. 'He's gonna be expecting some other's to come soon, so don't take forever. See here – ' He stopped Allegra as she stood, slinging her single strapped messenger bag across her left shoulder so the bag strap crossed over her hip and the bag itself rested against her right hip. 'You haven't got anything in there that might suspicious?'

Allegra rolled her eyes. 'No,' she said, but slung the back off her shoulder. 'But you can check it anyway.'

The policeman nodded, and opened her bag out onto the desk between them. He shuffled through the contents, taking everything out individually.

He examined her iPod, as if it might be some kind of explosive, and then the two empty spray cans in the bottom of the bag.

'What were these, may I enquire?' he asked, and Allegra grinned.

'They were accessories, ones that we could get and buy when we came up to this peak for the snowboarding,' she explained. 'But we used them to destroy our fake coaches boyfriends car.'

The operating sergeant chuckled. 'Ah, yes,' he agreed, the skin around his eyes wrinkling as he remembered with pleasure. 'What a disruption that certainly caused. Explosives in every lock!'

He was still chuckling as he pulled out the last thing after Allegra's wallet; the one Tom had given her last Christmas.

The thing the sergeant held was a photo frame. The one Allegra had found in Psymon's room after he had gone missing. She waited for the impending question.

'Is this…Mr Stark when he was younger?' he asked, and Allegra nodded.

'Yep,' she confirmed. 'Before he…kind of went crazy.'

She had already promised not to make Psymon the centre of the polices attention. That meant hiding the reason why he was psycho.

'May I ask how you got this?' he asked gently, watching Allegra reaction.

Allegra had expected as much. 'It was in his room, back at the Hut, where we're all staying,' she shrugged. 'He nearly left at one point, but then remembered that he no one to go to. I guess I brought this along as a kind of memento. Like, to not give up.'

The operating sergeant nodded approvingly, if not looking a little surprised.

'You snowboarder's,' he muttered as Allegra packed away the things back into her bag, and then he grabbed some keys from under the desk, twirling them around his finger on his key ring. 'More spiritual and embodied than I'd be able to comprehend.'

Allegra snorted.

'Don't say that around Psymon,' she said jokingly as she followed the policeman through the door that led into a room behind his desk.

She walked behind him as he led her down a short corridor, and then turned left. After another three left turns and two right ones, they came to a stop in front of another door. This door was marked in capitals:

HOLDING CELL

The sergeant fitted a key into the lock and twisted it. Allegra memorized the shape and colour of the key in case she needed it later on.

The policemen shoved open the door and led her down an aisle of small cells. A few contained prisoners, and others were empty.

Every single wall was blank, drab and dirty with smears of grunge and other things that Allegra didn't want to think about.

The operating sergeant stopped outside one cell, and Allegra peered inside.

'He the one you're here to see?' the policeman asked, just to make sure. Allegra squinted into the gloom of the darkest corner.

Yes – there was the shadow of Psymon's spiky hair, sticking up at odd angles. It moved slightly at the sound of their voices, and Allegra stepped cautiously inside.

The sergeant made a move to stop her, but when she held up a hand to him, he didn't move any further.

Allegra kneeled down into the dirt and grime, and reached tentatively into the shadow.

'Psymon? Yo, man,' she said softly, feeling Psymon's jacket shrink back against her touch. 'No point in pulling away, man. I'm not going away.'

The shadow moved again.

'Al?'

Psymon's tired face appeared from the darkness, and he looked surprised to see her.

'Whatcha doin, Al?' he asked, his voice hoarse and croaky. More so than always. 'Why didya come?'

Allegra rolled her eyes. 'To wish you a merry Christmas. Come on, man, snap out of it! We'll get you out soon.'

Psymon blinked up at her, non-comprehending. Then, he looked passed her to the sergeant.

'Could we go to the Talkin Room?' he asked, almost politely, even though Allegra heard the tinge of snideness in Psymon's voice.

The operating sergeant nodded, and then reached in and grabbed the shackle on Psymon's wrist, wrenching Psymon to his feet.

'Come on,' he said gruffly, and Psymon followed him out, shrugging past Allegra. Only one of Psymon's hands had been shackled, and he put the other on Allegra's shoulder.

She shivered slightly from his touch, but got over it soon enough.

The operating sergeant led them down the rest of the aisle, where more inmates were being held.

'Some of these buggers have been in here a long time,' the sergeant said proudly. 'Isn't that right?' he asked the filthy men who pressed their faces against the bars.

They seemed to sense someone new in the area, and all turned to watch Allegra. Several came right up to the front of their cells and reached out frantically, trying to grab Allegra.

Lots of them whistled, and called out to her.

'Hey – hey, baby!' one called excitedly, and Allegra shuddered.

'Whaoo! Over here!'

One caught hold of Allegra jacket from behind her as she passed, trying to pull her against the bars.

'Hey – whoa!' she cried, and felt Psymon's hand on her shoulder tighten. 'Hands off what you can't have!'

The inmate didn't let go, and suddenly, he shrieked, letting go off Allegra and suddenly nursing his hand.

Allegra saw it then: bite marks in the mans skin, angry and puckered.

She whipped her head around, and saw Psymon baring his teeth at the dirty man who had grabbed her.

He growled, and the inmate cowered.

'Come on,' he hissed to Allegra as the sergeant tugged him forward. 'Don't let any of them assholes get to you. Some of them have been in here long enough to not remember what a woman looks like.'

Allegra nodded, suddenly grateful for Psymon's secure hand on her shoulder, still feeling shaken from the man's urgent grip on her jacket.

The operating sergeant led them into a small room at the end of the hallway, and opened them door to let them inside.

Inside, there was a table, with a chair sitting on either side, and another chair sitting in the corner.

He cuffed Psymon's wrist shackle to one of the legs of the table, which was concreted into the cement floor under their feet, and then let him go, taking up the position of the chair in the corner.

Psymon sat down in the chair that was closest to the leg of the table where he was cuffed to, and Allegra sat down opposite.

'Okay,' she said, pulling her bag off her shoulder again, looping the single strap over her head. 'First of all, why?'

Psymon rolled his eyes. 'Why what?'

'Why did you do that? You know that it wasn't you. You didn't shoot that gun, Psymon. I know you didn't. So why did you say that you did?'

Psymon sighed, and then leaned back, casting an evil glance at the sergeant, who shrugged.

'Hey – ' the policeman said softly, his eyebrows raised. 'Whatever is said in this room stays in this room. Scouts honour.'

Psymon rolled his eyes again, and Allegra snorted.

'I did it because I'm an idiot.' He murmured, and Allegra sat forward.

'Tell me what happened,' she whispered, and Psymon, too, leant in close.

And then, he began to describe to her what exactly had happened the night before.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Formation Of An Idea…Which Is Dangerous

_I raced after the van as it spun away onto the road._

_I couldn't tell what I was thinking. Everything was muddled. Allegra was hurt. That mattered. Why? I had no fucking clue._

_They were still aiming, at me this time. I was the only one going after them. No one had seen me run after them. I was alone._

_Another round of shot clipped the asphalt around me feet, sending chips of gravel and tarmac ricocheting into my legs and back. Damn – it hurt, but the pain felt good._

'_Stark! Leave us or die!' I'm sure that's what that slut Marisol shouted at me. Or it could have been something else._

_They were suddenly in traffic, weaving so they didn't think I could catch them. But I was quick. Allegra was hurt – she needed to be safe. Everyone needed to be safe. But there wasn't enough time to save everyone. _

_I was coming up close to them fast. They had been forced to stop. There was a huge semi-trailer in their way._

_Yessss! I saw a light at the end of the tunnel that was barrelling towards me. I headed around cars, occasionally peeking through the windows to see the astonished faces of children and adults alike. Suck shit, I thought._

_Suddenly, I was right next to the van. My breathing was screwed, and my legs were trembling – man, I can't remember the last time I've run like that. Must have been ages._

_All of a sudden, the van inched forward, and then the semi trailer in front shuddered before pulling away._

_The van was rolling again._

_Making a stupid, boneheaded, snap decision, I jumped at the van's side, praying to God knows whose up there beyond the clouds that I wouldn't fall through._

_I didn't, but the van jiggled like crazy. I held on as they raced away from the traffic lights, and onto a quieter road._

_The guy with the gun was reaching out through the back doors, pulling his aim around to see me in his sniper sights. A million miles wide and grinning big._

_He shrieked and dropped the rifle. The van swerved again, and I let go. There was a pond close by, and the van veered off the road, and straight into the pond, tipping over._

_I rolled along the asphalt, trying to stop before I ploughed in after them. I took a two-millisecond breather, and then grabbed up the rifle and started running back towards the Main Street – where everyone was waiting._

_But it wasn't just the team waiting when I got back – Al was unconscious, but with an old face leaning over her._

_Guess who? Jezza Pirazo._

_JP._

_And who better? He'd help me cover for the incident. I was already reviewing possible plans in my head._

'_Psymon?' JP called, catching sight of me jogging up the road, rifle in the crook of my arm._

'_Yo,' I called, my heart trying to burst from between my ribs and my legs trembling from all the exercise. It felt good. 'I need your help with this.'_

'You did all that?' Allegra asked in disbelief. 'Why? And why did JP cover for you?'

Psymon nodded, and then sighed as he leant back in his chair. 'Because otherwise it would sound stupid. Like someone made it up. Lean in, closer.' He beckoned her closer so that he could whisper in her close to her ear, where the operating sergeant couldn't hear them

Allegra came as close as she dared, feeling Psymon's breath in her ear, and heard the sergeant's chair scrape forward slightly, but stop quickly as Psymon growled.

'There is a small access chute at the back of my cell,' he whispered, so lightly that Allegra wasn't sure she was listening to Psymon for a moment. 'The guard over there –' he nodded with almost undetectable skill at the sergeant. ' – Has a soft spot for pretty woman and doughnuts. Trust me on that.'

Allegra nodded unnoticeably before leaning back.

'Hey – ' she said conversationally. 'I brought you this.'

She reached into her bag for the photo frame, and handed it to Psymon. He took it and studied it, his frown deepening and a snarl rippling through his chest.

'Okay,' he growled, and Allegra resisted the urge to inch back. 'Answer, now. Why did you bring it?'

Allegra shrugged, keeping her head high and her face clean of any expression. She had learnt how to use this poker face so well from both Elise and Psymon, the two eldest of the team.

'Because I didn't want you to have to spend Christmas alone or without any notion that no one thinks about you,' she said practically. 'Elise thinks about you a lot, you know. It was so much for her that she was mumbling in her sleep. Zoe was up all night sitting outside on the edge of the Ruthless Ridge circuit, and Moby was just starring at nothing in particular on the roof, where you usually are.'

Psymon nodded, as if this made him feel better.

'Thanks for that. Merry Christmas, Al.' he said gruffly, and wiped a hand across his forehead. 'Man – I'm getting hot in here.'

'I'd better go anyway,' Allegra said, sensing that Psymon wanted to be alone. 'Merry Christmas, Psymon.'

She stood, scraping back her chair, and Psymon waited almost patiently for the operating sergeant to unclip his shackle from the table leg.

They walked together in silence, and Psymon kept a secure arm around Allegra's waist in case anyone grabbed at her again.

But no one tried it, because they all copped fierce glares of intense hate and bared teeth from Psymon if they tried.

Allegra felt that Psymon's arm around her wasn't necessary, but if it gave him as much comfort to know that he wasn't alone as it gave her, she wasn't about to complain.

When they reached Psymon's cell, a new plan was blooming in Allegra's mind.

'See you soon. The other guys wanted to come see you as well, but I decided to come in early,' she explained, and Psymon nodded, slipping his arm away from her with what almost seemed to be gentleness.

'I'm glad you came first. I wouldn't have told all that shit to anyone else. Good luck with it, Al.' he murmured, before being shoved roughly into his cell by the sergeant.

The sergeant nodded to Allegra, and then waddled off, back to the front desk. Allegra followed him, and left the compound more slowly than she had come.

Maybe this really would work…

But she needed Elise's help. And Kaori's make-up skills.


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

From JP and Socks With Love…

Soon after Allegra got back, everyone was making his or her way into the kitchen of the Hut. Although the kitchen had been designed to hold a lot of people, Allegra found herself feeling slightly hemmed in as everyone tried to take part in the makings of Christmas breakfast.

'Hey, hold that toast!' Elise shouted to Viggo.

'Coffee coming through,' Nate said loudly, trying to barge between Zoe and Mac with four mugs of coffee in his hands. 'Make way! This stuff's hot!'

Mac and Zoe were fighting about how much cereal they would need, and Griff was enthusiastically pouring juice into many different size glasses, spilling several drops on the bench while he did so.

Kaori was running around after Griff and mopping up the juice he spilt while also bugging Moby into refilling the kettle.

Allegra herself was attempting to set the table – a feat she rarely did – when suddenly; there was a yell from the hallway by the front door.

'Is there anyone but rogue apes in here?'

Everyone stopped cold, the clatter of plates and the yells for control evaporating, seeming to make the silence even louder.

'Greg?' Elise choked out, her eyes like the saucers that she was drying. 'What are…'

'I've come with guests, so if any of you are indecent, change now.' He said, his voice coming closer from the hallway.

As he strode into the kitchen, Allegra watched as he surveyed the scene around him. She wondered if he knew about Psymon, and guessed that he probably did.

'Everyone,' he called for attention, as everyone had started moving around again. He stood at the head of the table, and everyone gathered around. Behind Greg, Dave, Atomica and the man Allegra remembered from the accident the other night were all standing close by him.

'I understand that at this moment we don't have one of our team with us,' Greg said seriously. 'But right now, that seems like the biggest tragedy of all. Because he won't be joining in the Christmas festivities that we will indulge in. But right now, we have to remain cheerful, as this opportunity won't come around for another year.'

A ripple of smiled and chuckles spread like a small bushfire through the group, and Allegra wondered what Psymon would be doing…probably snarling at the other inmates, she guessed.

'And at this moment,' Greg continued after lifting his hand for silence. 'I have some introductions to make. Merry Christmas, everybody.'

He reached behind him, and Atomica handed him a small backpack. Greg reached into the backpack, and drew out a large bottle of fruit wine.

Everyone cheered in excitement, and Elise headed back into the kitchen for the proper wine glasses.

Greg motioned to Allegra, and she willingly followed him into the hallway. Dave and Atomica stayed with the rest of the team in the kitchen and dining area, while the other man followed along behind Greg and Allegra.

Greg took them both out onto the front porch, and then turned to Allegra, standing between her and the man.

A dog bounded up, barking and yipping. It jumped at Allegra, sniffing and checking her out.

'Hey – down, Socks! Sit!' the man said sharply, and the dog backed away, still yipping excitedly.

Greg smiled, and leant down to rub the dog called Socks on the head.

'Good girl,' he said, and Socks sat down, her tail wagging furiously. 'Allegra, I would like you to meet Mr Jezzero Pirazo.'

The man stepped forward, smiling warmly, and extended his hand to Allegra.

'JP,' he said, and Allegra firmly shook his hand. 'I think we've met ever so briefly before now. Merry Christmas.'

Allegra nodded. 'And you, too. Kaori's been going non-stop about you.' She said honestly, recalling all the hours she had spent listening to Kaori go on about JP this, or JP that…it started to get to Allegra.

JP smiled at Kaori's name, and his eyes went kind of distant, almost unseeing for a short time.

'Yeah, she would,' he smiled again, seeming to bring himself back down to earth. 'And I hear that Psymon's been getting himself into some trouble again.'

Allegra nodded, remembering Psymon's face as she had given him the phot frame.

'Yeah,' she agreed, and Socks got up, snuffling around the ankles of Allegra's jeans. 'He wants us to be careful, you know…not get into any strife ourselves.' She added, spinning her tale lightly. Both Greg and JP seemed dubious at first, but dismissed the thought with a shrug each.

'Oh well,' Greg sighed. 'We can always wait and see, which is best for now.'

Allegra gritted her teeth, but didn't say anything. She hadn't yet asked Elise about being involved with the plan, but she would when the time was right.

The plan was risky, but Allegra was ready to take the chance. This was for Psymon, and right now, that was what mattered.

Then, JP slung the backpack he'd been carrying over his shoulder and dropped it onto the floor, digging around inside its contents.

'Despite Psymon not being able to be with us this Christmas,' he said, still rifling around. 'I got you guys something, you know, a whole group thing.'

He pulled out a bag, but Allegra couldn't quite see what was inside it. 'Come on.' He said, and Greg led the way back into the kitchen, and yelled for attention.

Everyone turned after a moment of chatter to look at Greg and JP again. Allegra went and sat between Atomica and Dave, and flashed an "okay" signal to Atomica when he raised his eyebrows.

'JP has a little something for everyone,' Greg said, and JP started reaching into the bag. Greg allowed JP to take over the hot spot, and he began by saying,

'Now, I know you guys are modest and all, but seriously, you've all done fantastic from what I've heard.'

Nudges and winks rippled through the group. Allegra guessed everyone was recalling the incident with Marisol and Brett's car.

'But since you don't have an official symbol, Socks and I chose one for you guys.' JP pulled a handful of small, shiny things out of the bag and tossed one to everyone, including Greg, Dave and Atomica.

Allegra caught hers, and realized it was a badge. It was in the shape of an eight-pointed star, with a mini version of the SSX banner on it. Allegra grinned, and listened as the cheers and excited yells from everyone else rang out around her.

She pinned it to her chest, and then caught JP's eye.

She got up and went over to him, as he was still standing in front of where everyone had gathered.

'Can I have another?' she asked. 'For Psymon, that is.'

JP grinned, and then fished out another from the bottom of the bag.

'For Psymon, then yeah,' he replied, and Allegra laughed.

**MCOMM FROM: **Atomica

**SUBJECT: **Fan Mail.**  
MESSAGE: **

_Here we are, back at the SSX Stadium for more updates on our racing competitors in the snowboarding ring and we have lots of fan mail to sort through tonight. Eyes and ears have been turned towards one of this year's newbies, the French-American born Allegra_ _Sauvagess. Many of the letters we have to delete and throw away are in fact for her, and many of them are from younger kids looking for an idol. I'm looking at one right here, and it's from a little eight-year-old girl in North Carolina called Samantha, and she writes:_

"Dear Allegra, I love your snowboarding skills and I'm keeping up-to-date on all the latest SSX news. I have cut out all the magazine articles on you that I can find and have tacked them to my wall. Dad also recorded lots of the interviews that were put on TV for me, and I keep them in my special cupboard next to my bed. Will you please send me your autograph? – Samantha."_ Wow – isn't that great, guys?_ _Kids are really getting into this and it's just mad out here. Well, Sammy – if you're listening, Allegra's been real busy winning medals up here on the mountain, an I'll see if I can get this letter in particular through to her._

_Also, looking around here in my office I'm seeing a lot of fan mail from grown ups, too. One that catches my eye right away is a complaint from a wife – she says that her husband has been glued to the television for weeks now, just to hear what's happening on the snowboarding arena, and, in particular, on Allegra Sauvagess. Ooh – Al, I don't think you want to read this one. The rest of them, as far as I can tell, are all from lovesick males wanting to know your myspace address, facebook log in and Twitter page. All I can say is this: Your call, Al._


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54 Christmas – It Hangs Like Suspicion

Christmas day was a huge event, and Allegra could hardly keep track of it.

The whole group went to see Psymon again, and Psymon had accepted his new badge with as much grace as he could. The security had cleared it, saying that the pin wasn't long enough to be able to pry open any of the locks, even stab through electrical ones.

Then, the group had hit the town, and spent.

Allegra had found a lot of uses for all the money winnings she had, and all the money she had attained from the two Peaks so far.

Mac had introduced her to an old SSX Team tradition, where everyone buys something for everyone else, swapping presents and gifts.

Allegra bought Zoe a new leather jacket, as her old one was tattered and worn from years of use.

For Kaori, Allegra had bought a panda-shaped backpack, and for Elise, she got a voucher for a lingerie and night wear store, where Elise had then spent a lot of time.

Allegra had gotten Mac a new CD case and a handful of new CD's, and she got Moby a set of new snowboard grease bars from the local Snow+Surf shop.

She had given Nate a new cowboy hat, and she had gotten Griff a brand new T-shirt without any stains on it.

And for Viggo, Allegra had found a 30-page sketchbook, along with a packet of shiny, sharply tipped artists pencils.

The things Allegra received were:

A set of five bandanas' from Nate.

A water and snow proof watch from Moby.

Two boxes of snowboard toner grease and board soap from Elise.

A new pair of snowboarding boots from Viggo and Griff, which had been a combined gift.

From Zoe she received a new snowboard case with white snowflakes and blue flames patterning the outside, one that Allegra had been admiring from the shop windows from a long time.

Mac had given her a voucher for fifty dollars free credit for her phone and a code for fifty free songs to download to her iPod.

And Kaori had presented her with two pairs of boxer shorts and two "graffiti" style T-shirts to go with them.

Allegra's mind was still spinning from the events of the morning, and then, she was hardly ready to stomach Christmas lunch.

Everyone crowded around the long dining table, setting out places for everyone, including Atomica, Greg, Dave and JP.

Socks even had a special spot by JP's feet, except she took to running around everyone else's feet, yapping and snapping playfully at everyone's ankles.

Once everything was set out, and everyone was seated, Greg stood again, raising his glass of champagne.

'Everyone,' he called for attention, and all heads stopped talking and turn to watch him with excitement. 'I would like to tell you all that I'm extremely proud of all of you, despite of some things that have been done. This Christmas, we are missing only one of our team, though.' This time he looked meaningfully down at JP, who nodded grimly and grinned. Allegra wondered why. 'But we cannot let this affect our performance. Merry Christmas, everyone!'

He hailed the toast, and everyone else stood and clinked glasses. There was laughing and chatting again, and everyone started eating.

The traditional Christmas feast was laid out. Turkey and ham on a huge platter, salad and dressing on another. Potato salad, asparagus, cucumber, cranberry jelly, everything seemed to be there.

Allegra listened to conversation and joined in every chance she could, and then looked around at everyone.

Kaori, Mac, Viggo, and Griff were all laughing and trying to wipe cranberry jelly off Griff's face, and Moby, Elise, Nate and Atomica were chatting loudly about different things, on and off.

Greg, Dave, JP and Zoe were all talking, telling jokes and sharing stories. Allegra had been watching Zoe all day, because she had been looking a bit pale.

Then, she watched as Zoe shoved back her plate and excused herself before heading down the hall.

Allegra dismissed it, and turned back conversation. Zoe was just getting something, or something like that – right?

But Allegra still couldn't quell the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55 Rumours And Instinct

The next day, Allegra woke with an uneasy feeling dwelling in her gut. What had Zoe been doing the night before? Probably just being Zoe, as per usual.

But then again – why had no one else noticed? Allegra guessed that being a newbie, she wasn't expected to understand everything about everyone.

And that made her think even harder. She had been here close to a year now. Way up on the mountain, and she'd hardly sent a single text to her parents or Tom since the time of the accident.

She rolled over, careful not to lie on her bad arm, and got up slowly. This was pretty normal, right?

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. Reaching for it from where it lay on the bedside, Allegra couldn't help but try to guess whom it was.

It was someone she hadn't expected. Elise.

**To: Big Al**

**From: BombShellGodess**

**Subject:**

Do u no were Zoe iz? Shez not in here. Iz she wif u?

Allegra frowned. Where was Zoe? She should still be in bed, and her room was adjoined with Elise's…

Allegra shook her plaits out of the way and started to text back furiously.

**To: BombShellGodess**

**From: Big Al**

**Subject:**

No. I thort she woz stil in bed. :0. Dis iz bad. She left dina reel erli last nite. Dunno where she went. Sorry. =(

She sent the text, and then received one from Mac.

**To: Big Al & BombShellGodess**

**From: WlkinTheDawg **

**Subject:**

I herd her go outside. Dunno wot she did afta dat. Do u think shez OK? =0!

Suddenly, another person connected into the texting conversation. Viggo.

**To: disclosed_recipients **

**From: ScannerRockgod**

**Subject:**

Yo! Griff & me saw Zoe go into town frm our windo. Ani 1 no where she mite haf gon?

Allegra's mind ticked over. Zoe had gone to see Psymon, no doubt. She wondered which car Zoe had taken.

Suddenly, Nate joined in.

**To: disclosed_recipients**

**From: BULL**of**COLORADO**

**Subject:**

No carz haf been takn. How did she get out dere so fast? I saw her b4 she went 2 bed. Man – she l00ked bad. Lyk she had been sic or sumfing.

As she stared at the screen, Allegra wondered. Had Zoe hitched a ride from the roadside? Had she run out all the way into the closet town? Why? So many questions swirled around Allegra's head, and suddenly, Elise was texting again.

**To: disclosed_recipients**

**From: BombShellGodess**

**Subject:**

Do u think shez sic? She cood b real sic – she didn't actuali cum in2 our room last nite – sed dat she woz gona stay a bit l8tr.

**To: disclosed_recipients**

**From: ScannerRockgod**

**Subject:**

She woodnt try anythin stoopid, wood she? Griff's getin jumpi.

**To: disclosed_recipients**

**From: BULL**of**COLORADO**

**Subject:**

I say we wate 4 her 2 cum bac. Shez gonna haf 2.

**To: disclosed_recipients**

**From: WlkinTheDawg**

**Subject:**

I saw her last nite wen she woz getin changd. Man – I used 2 think that she woz preti strong, but now – shez lyk, HELL _SKINNY!_ THERE IS SUMFING WRONG WITH ZOE!

Allegra drew in a deep breath. She tried to think it through, when Moby joined in, and Elise ended her side of the conversation.

**To: disclosed_recipients**

**From: Mr Jones**

**Subject:**

I just saw her mountin byk roc in2 da garage. Sumfing is screwy with her. I'm going to try to talk to her. No joke peeps. She is probably sick about the whole ordeal with Psymon. I am, that's for sure.

**Al, can you find out what's going on? While I talk to her, you, Nate, Elise, Viggo and Mac try to find out what you guys can. Scour her room, anything. Search her wardrobe. Please. Do it for Psymon and Zoe. I'll go talk to her.**

Allegra raised her eyebrows. Man – when Moby wanted to talk, and text, he really did. She thought about everything, and then heard the front door slam, and soon, footsteps were on the stairs. They sounded like Zoe.

Soon, Allegra could hear Moby's low voice, and Zoe's muffled undertone, and Allegra got up silently, making sure that Kaori, who was still sleeping soundly across from her, didn't wake at all.

So. Allegra wasn't the only one seeing differences in Zoe.

This was serious. Real, real serious.


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56 W.T.F?

'Whoa,' Viggo murmured as they crept into Zoe's room.

Allegra seconded that opinion, looking around in awe at the…well, _decoration _that Zoe had created to suit herself.

The entire room was doused in gothic black; poster's of Emo rock bands covering nearly every inch of the walls that weren't covered in sparkly, silver bangles that hung on hooks and earrings that Allegra doubted Zoe ever used.

'This is _so_ strange. Emo doesn't even cover it.' Elise muttered, and Nate nodded.

'Yeah,' he said. And to think, she keeps her door closed all the time. No wonder why.'

Viggo shuddered. 'I'm so glad we didn't include Griff in this. He would freak out at Zoe, and probably then again at everyone else for lying to him.'

'_We_ weren't lying to him.' Allegra pointed out, lifting Zoe's dyed black pillow off her covers to uncover black white board markers – obviously for colouring Zoe's ever black fingernails. 'Zoe has been hiding all this under…well, everything else that she does.'

'Ew – gross,' Elise said softly, looking at a jar sitting on Zoe's desk that seemed to be filled with eyeballs. Allegra could tell they were fake. 'This is totally grossing me out. Can we get out of here, please?'

Wait a minute,' Viggo said, rifling through some papers on Zoe's desk. Allegra recognized some of the sheets – documents, résumé's, all turned down and stamped with red, marked: "DENIED".

'This is probably only half of it,' Allegra muttered, and Mac called softly from over by Zoe's bed.

'Hey, guys, look at these,' he said quietly, holding a stack of CD's. 'Hand-made, dude. This is creepy. I didn't know Zoe made her own music.'

Nate snorted gently. 'Yeah – they're probably sounds of her barfing her guts up or something.'

Viggo snickered, and Allegra thumped him in the stomach with her cast. His breath left his lungs with a solid _whooph!_

'That isn't funny,' Elise criticized. 'What if you were in Zoe's shoes? How you feel?'

Suddenly, Allegra's phone beeped. She scrambled for it, trying to get it to stop beeping before it attracted any attention.

'What?' she hissed, and heard Moby's low breathing.

'You're in luck,' he murmured. 'Zoe's totally zonked out, and she's asleep on the couch down here in the lounge. You've got a little while before she gets up. Said that she didn't get a lot of sleep last night.'

'I wouldn't have either,' Allegra muttered. 'Where was she, anyway?'

'She bunked out in the cell next to Psymon, apparently,' Moby replied, and Allegra turned up the volume slightly so that Elise, Viggo, Nate and Mac could hear Moby's words as well. 'The warden told her that if she didn't cause any trouble, she was okay to sleep in the cell next to Psymon. Bet they spent the night talking. Or fucking each other through the cells bars just to piss off the other inmates.'

Elise was grimacing, and Allegra knew that she hated having to watch Psymon and Zoe in pain. Not that they were close or anything. Viggo was looking thoughtful, and Nate was nudging Mac, who caught his eye.

Allegra followed their gaze, and saw Nate had nodded at a stack of folders that looked like photo albums on the top shelf of Zoe's dresser.

Mac was already striding over to them, and started tugging them down slowly, being careful not to knock anything in the process.

Allegra closed her phone and stowed it in her pocket, and Elise's eyes suddenly widened.

'Mac – stop!' she hissed, but Mac had already knocked the heavy brass book-stop from it's place on the edge of the dresser.

Allegra didn't think. She only acted. Using lightning reflexes that years of snowboarding and riding the high slopes had taught her, she lunged forward, passed Nate, who was frozen, and caught the heavy brass ornament before it clunked onto the floor.

She landed with a heavy thud on the carpet, and everyone was silent, holding their breaths, waiting for Zoe to come storming.

Nothing.

Nate's phone beeped, and he dug it out.

'Guys – heads up. Zoe's awake. Says she's gotta go into town for a while. Wait – she's leaving – yes, she is out of the garage – mountain bike in hand – she's on the driveway – and she's gone. You're clear, guys.'

Allegra sighed heavily with relief. 'Thank God for that,' she muttered, and Elise offered her a hand up while Viggo took the heavy brass ornament from her and placed it back on the shelf, right where it had been before.

'Let's have a look through these.' Nate said, taking a couple of photo albums from the pile in Mac's arms, already heading out of Zoe's gothic room.

Allegra nodded, and remembered to close the door behind her – she had wanted to be out of Zoe's room as fast as the others.

_What was in the photo albums? _


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57 Zoe's Life As A Fifteen-Year-Old…

Half an hour later and Allegra's hands were covered in dust, and her mind was totally boggled.

She, Nate, Mac, Elise and Viggo had poured through the stacks of photo albums, while Moby kept watch by the front window, his iPod turned up to full volume.

There had been lots "eews" and "oh, _gross_" comments as the five of them went through page after page of photo's, revealing Zoe's younger self. Less gothic, more rebel than she was now.

Finally, Allegra heaved over the last album and opened the cover. It seemed to be one of the more recent one's, and on the front page was written in bold:

_WELCOME TO CAMP HELL-HOLE:_

_My new school's views of natural living at Camp Kennedy…(blech)_

Allegra looked over photos of Zoe with her friends, and as Allegra's eyes skimmed over the captions, she learnt more and more about Zoe's earlier life. For one, all of these photos had been taken when Zoe had been fifteen.

_My roommates, Laura, Hallie, Kara and Bianca & me. All aged 15._

Another one stated:

_Us at dinner, checking out the volunteer staff. Hot dude on the left with the mo: totally mine, though Kara says otherwise. Think his name is Simon._

Allegra looked closely at the photo of the guy that Zoe had written about. At a glance, she wouldn't have recognized Psymon – but when she looked past the slicked-back Mohawk, she could really see Psymon underneath.

Elise came up behind her and looked over her shoulder.

'Elise?' Allegra asked, and Elise began before Allegra could even ask.

'Yeah – Psymon had been one of the volunteer staff. Something to do instead of bumming around all day doing jack-all.' She said, and Allegra remembered Psymon's words from after he'd tried to commit suicide. He'd told her that he kept trying to do stuff to take his mind off the accident, but couldn't.

She flipped over the page, and saw nothing. The entire double-page was blank, and all that Allegra could see was some blue pen smudges from where fresh writing had smudged and left a mark on the album page underneath.

Viggo was at her elbow.

'Hey – can you read that?' she asked, and turned the page to him. Viggo studied the album page for a moment, and leant back.

'It says,' he said slowly, making sure he had got it right. '"Me and staff volunteer Psymon Stark – so hot."'

Allegra sucked in a breath. The photo had been removed recently, and Allegra wondered if Psymon and Zoe had ever really hit off.

Elise sighed, and Mac punched her lightly on the shoulder. 'Hey – Bombshell, what's your prob?'

'They…really, they had nothing but fireworks. And Zoe was so headstrong that even Psymon couldn't reason with her when he was within the minimal range of sanity. They broke up a couple of years back, but had about three years together.' Elise explained, and Allegra finally knew why Zoe had cried so hard when Psymon had disappeared. She had known all along about his predicament.

'She knew he was suicidal,' she whispered, and Viggo suddenly stilled, as if pulled taut by an invisible string.

'Shh,' he hissed, and everyone went stiff, listening intently. Moby was silent from by the front window, and Viggo slowly turned to Allegra.

'Find the photo!' he whispered, and Allegra nodded.

Moby coughed from the stairs. 'All clear. Just a passing van.'

Everyone else relaxed, and Nate went for a coffee. Viggo and Mac went back to pouring through the albums and Elise tapped Allegra on the shoulder as Allegra reached the stairs.

'Zoe would've taken the photo and put it somewhere special, somewhere close. Check through her snowboarding stuff, look through her boxes of fibreboard polish, anything. Just find it, okay? We have to know for sure.' Elise murmured, and Allegra rolled her eyes.

'What am I? Search and FreakShow?' she muttered, heading up the stairs. 'I'll find it. Be back in a couple of minutes.'

Allegra reached Zoe's room and gingerly pulled open the door, glad that Kaori had taken Griff out to practice on the slopes instead of hanging around inside all day.

Zoe's bedroom was still the way they had left it earlier, and Allegra carefully shuffled through Zoe's sock drawer, coming up with nothing except odd socks, and the occasional bit of gothic black underwear.

She went through everything in Zoe's room that had a door, and soon, she had gone all the way through everything from under Zoe's mattress to the very bottom to the very top of her closet.

Allegra was sweating after about twenty minutes of work, and suddenly, heard Nate's warning whistle come up the stairs, relayed by Moby.

'Crud,' she muttered, slipping out of Zoe's room as she heard the front door slam and Zoe's loud voice talking to the others.

Allegra hadn't found the photo, but then a thought occurred to her. Was it…

She raced into the bathroom, which was a couple of doors down from Zoe's room, and she tried to make as little noise as possible that might give herself away.

Once inside the bathroom, she searched through the toiletries bag that Zoe kept her toothbrush, toothpaste and other essentials in.

She raked through Zoe's draw of things, found nothing, and then saw something sticking out from under Psymon's abandoned rucksack that looked as if it had seen better days.

It was a glint of white, reflected off the morning sunlight that streamed in the window.

Allegra tugged it from where it was snagged under Psymon's bag, and just about reeled in shock.

It was the photo.

It was a close up of Zoe, aged fifteen, with her arms around Psymon's neck. Psymon looked to be about twenty-three, his eyes still holding that fierce gleam that they shone every time Allegra looked.

They looked happy, and Allegra turned over the photograph. Sure enough, printed in smudged blue pen, was written:

_Me and staff volunteer Psymon Stark – so hot_

The photo looked as if it had been taken during a party, judging by the darkness dappled with disco lights in the background behind Zoe and Psymon.

Suddenly, Allegra's phone beeped, and Allegra heard footsteps on the stairs. Scrambling for her phone, Allegra held it to her ear.

'Yo?'

'Al,' it was Mac, speaking softly but urgently. 'Get out of there. Zoe's on her way up.'

There was a loud banging on the bathroom door. 'Allegra? Hurry up in there!' Zoe.

Allegra closed her phone and then called back.

'Come on in, I'm just washing my hands.' She turned the tap on full, and Zoe pushed open the door.

Allegra managed to shove the photo into the back pocket of her jeans, and then thrust her hands under the tap of cold running water.

Zoe looked slightly frazzled, and Allegra wondered just how long she had spent with Psymon last night.

'Where were you?' she asked, taking the most obvious tactic first off. Zoe shrugged, and then discarded her jacket in the bath tubs edge.

'Just…out,' she said, and then turned and glared at Allegra. 'Why? Who wants to know so bad?'

Allegra held her hands up in the universal "whoa, Nelly" gesture. 'Hey – no one in particular. I was just wondering.'

Zoe rolled her eyes.

'Suuure,' she said, shutting off the tap. 'Just…stay _away_ from Psymon. Okay?'

Allegra raised her eyebrows.

'Why? Is he suicidal again?' she snapped, and Zoe shrugged, trying to look nonplussed.

'No. He's…just not himself right now.'

Allegra shrugged. 'Whatever.'

Her heart was still pounding from the search and then again from actually finding the photo, and she slipped out past Zoe without another comment.

But not before she saw Zoe slip a packet of tablets into her toiletries bag.


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58 Rated MA+ For Fifteen Years And Over Only

Zoe stayed in the bathroom for a long time, and Allegra waited for at least five minutes to make sure that she was still inside before slipping downstairs to meet the five anxious faces that waited for her.

'Where is she?' Elise hissed, her eyes wide and her hands clenching and unclenching nervously.

'Man – we all thought she'd caught you,' Viggo said, his Swedish accent heavy with relief. 'But then again, it was real quite, and that ain't Zoe's style.'

Nate nodded as Allegra grinned. 'Yep, I concur with that assessment.' He said, and Allegra nearly thumped him with her cast again. 'Just kidding.'

'You better be,' she growled, and then Mac closed the last photo album.

'Did you find it?' he asked, and Allegra nodded, and pulled the photo from the back pocket of her jeans, waving it in front of them all triumphantly.

Moby whistled approvingly. 'Nicely done. Where was it?' he asked, and Allegra frowned, her triumph fading slightly.

'It wasn't actually in her room,' she admitted. 'Since I didn't find it there, I checked in the bathroom, coz, you know, she could have had it with her toothbrush and that.'

Everyone nodded along, and at that moment, Kaori and Griff battered through the front door, laughing and joking.

'…No, _I_ was the one that…' Kaori was saying, and stopped as she saw everyone else looking solemn faced.

'Yo,' Griff said, shaking snow out of his hair as he put his snowboard on the rack. 'Are we jumping in on something? Scanner?' he looked hopefully at Viggo.

Viggo shook his head, and Allegra saw him plaster a smile on his face as he went over and combed some more snow from Griff's wild, flame coloured hair.

'Just… big kid stuff that you don't need to worry about just yet. School, university…' he said, and Griff wrinkled his nose as Kaori gave Allegra a curious look.

Allegra shrugged, giving the general "no biggie" gesture.

'Aw…guys!' Griff moaned, tugging off his gloves. 'You shouldn't stay in here! It's fully sick air out there right now! The snow is so totally awesome!'

Nate laughed, and Kaori started herding Griff towards the hallway.

'I'll get him cleaned up,' she offered, and Griff pouted, pretending to try and claw his way back along the walls so he could be with Allegra and the others.

'No,' he said stubbornly, planting his snow-covered boots firmly on the carpet. 'I want to stay with.'

Kaori rolled her eyes, trying to now drag Griff. 'C'mon, Griff,' she said, just as stubborn.

Griff struggled against Kaori, and so Viggo scooped him up and threw Griff over his shoulder.

'Now,' Viggo said definitely, 'we go.'

Griff was muttering all the way down the hallway, and Kaori followed, slightly abashed.

Allegra waited until Viggo came back, brushing snow that had come from Griff's hair off his hands.

'Right,' Mac said. 'What's the photo look like?'

Elise slapped him, and he cringed away. 'You're a pervert,' she muttered, but then turned to glare demandingly at Allegra.

Allegra pulled the photo from her back pocket where it had been stored. Handing it to Nate, she let him survey it for a moment, and then he passed it to Moby, who had joined them all at the dining table.

Moby gave it to Viggo, and Viggo raised his eyebrows. 'Wow,' he murmured, almost to himself.

Elise took it from him, and Mac peered over her shoulder. Elise looked disgusted, but Mac gave a low whistle.

'Well,' he said, sounding surprised. 'I would never thought that Zoe and Psymon…'

'Shh, _shut up_, you idiot! Zoe could have set this whole thing up. I mean, come _on_,' Elise said tiredly, waving the photo around her head. 'This is totally set up! Zoe wants us to think that she had a fling with Psymon. There was no way that they could even remotely agree that two and two was four!'

Allegra rolled her eyes. 'It might have been real. You never know.'

Elise snapped around to frown at her. 'No. Way.' She said. 'I've known Zoe since she was twelve years old. Seriously, she is not one to mess with when it comes to boys. And when it does, you steer the hell clear of her for a _long _time.'

Mac nodded. 'Yeah. When Zoe started here, she had a lot of guys tripping over her snow dust. But the thing was, I reckon it could have been true, coz she really avoided Psymon for the entire first season, like she knew him but didn't want to know him.'

'That's a laugh,' Nate chuckled. 'But then again, that would explain their long silences whenever they fought. Like they knew what each other was going to say.'

Allegra grinned. 'Maybe they need a happily ever after.'

Elise sighed, and shoved the photo back into the slot in the album. 'We'll never know for sure, because no one here probably has the guts to ask her.'

Allegra raised her eyebrows. 'Nobody…' she asked, the challenge in her tone lingering.

'No. Don't even try,' Viggo warned, starting to pack up the albums. 'Anyway – we've got to get these packed away and back in her room before she notices that they're missing. I'm surprised that she didn't see them when she came in.'

Nate snorted. 'No way. She was far too preoccupied with whoever she texting at that moment. Al, can you do the honours of keeping her entertained while Mac and I get these back into her room?'

Allegra nodded. 'I'll go find her.'

Heading up the stairs, Allegra suddenly stopped as she heard a vile noise emerging from the bathroom.

She listened intently, and then looked up through the stair case banister at the bathroom door. It was closed and locked.

Going up to the door, she pressed her ear against the hard wood. Zoe hadn't come out, and suddenly, there was another gut-wrenching sound.

Like someone puking.

'Zoe?' Allegra tried to keep her voice even. If Zoe were sick, would she be all right when it came time to go on to Peak Three? Allegra knew that they had a two-month break, but they were closing in on their last three weeks…

There was a strangled gurgle from behind the door.

'I'm fine,' a choked voice rasped.

Zoe. Allegra was sure it was her.

'Zoe? Open the door, Zoe,' Allegra said, knocking against the door gently. Already, she could smell the awful odour of the bile and whatever Zoe had last eaten.

'No,' as sick and hoarse as Zoe sounded, she was stubborn. 'I can't.'

'Reach up for the door handle,' Allegra instructed, mentally viewing a layout of the bathroom in her mind. The toilet was close to the door, and the sounds of vomiting were loud enough so Allegra knew exactly where Zoe was.

Nate and Mac were standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching her apprehensively, their arms loaded with photo albums.

Nate gestured for Allegra to hurry up, and she gave him the "up-yours" signal. He shrugged and left her be.

'Zoe? Are you sick?' she called through the door, and this caught Nate and Mac's attention. 'Zoe, c'mon, open the door.'

'I feel…' Zoe's voice gasped. 'Real…bad…'

'Is she okay?' Mac hissed, and Allegra shook her head. 'How bad?'

'Real bad,' she mouthed, and Nate dropped the armload he was carrying and came up the stairs and to the door beside Allegra.

'Come on, Zoe,' he said firmly. 'Open the door. We've got to help you. You need help.'

There was a groan from behind the door, but no other reaction.

'Zoe…' Nate threatened, and then motioned for Allegra to stand back. She took two steps back, realizing what Nate intended to do.

Nate took a step backwards, and then shoved his entire weight against the door. The door itself shuddered and creaked, and Nate stepped back for another go.

He slammed into it again, harder this time, and Allegra heard the hinges start to give. One more shove like the first two, and the door would come clean off.

Nate had judged the same thing, and threw himself at the door again, much harder than before. The door broke under his weight, and he stumbled into the bathroom.

At that moment, Elise, Moby and Viggo had come up with Mac to see what the commotion was about.

Kaori and Griff stepped out of the rec room, looking confused and bewildered.

'What the…' Elise said as she came up next to Allegra.

Allegra couldn't say anything. She was staring at Zoe.

Zoe was curled up on the ground, wrapped in a flimsy towel, her hair messy and tangled, lying against the cold bathroom tiles.

Her entire body was trembling, and the parts of her skin that weren't covered in vomit were a pale, ghostly white.

Nate was at her head, lifting her lifeless face out of the pile of puke. He checked that she was breathing, and then pulled the towel up to rest her head on.

Allegra nearly gasped as the towel slipped off Zoe's body.

Zoe coughed, and her entire ribcage shuddered. The ribs were sticking out, and the skin was clearly under nourished and dark purplish with self inflicted bruises.

Her legs had lost the strength Allegra knew they had once had, looking thin and like pieces of straw, able to snapped all too easily.

'Leggo,' Zoe muttered, her pale fingers trembling for a grip on the towel. A shining packet of tablets that lay close to the toilet basin caught Allegra's eye, and she tentatively reached for them, dread flooding her as she tried to overcome the initial shock.

The dread was replaced – no, added to, by a sinking feeling as Allegra knew she was right.

The small packet of tablets had one label.

_Neurophin._


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59 Open Faces, Truths Told

'Self induced nausea because of the use of Neurophin and an overdose of Lemon Detox,' the doctor said decisively.

He turned to the hospital bed where Zoe was lying. 'You'll be laid up for a little while, because Neurophin, when taken in large doses, can cause some real damage.'

'Wasn't damaging nothin',' Zoe muttered, staring blankly out the window.

The doctor turned to Allegra. It was half past one in the afternoon, and the rest of the Team had headed back to the Hut, but Allegra had remained behind.

'How many did you say you thought she took?' the doctor asked, and Allegra thought for a moment.

'About…maybe, ten? Twelve?' she was guessing, because when Moby had raided through the rest of Zoe's toiletries bag, he had found two other packets, each with several tablets missing.

The doctor nodded, and muttered to himself a moment. Just then, a nurse came in to check Zoe's blood pressure.

'You hold in there, sweetie,' the nurse said softly to Zoe. Zoe tried to look as I-really-don't-wanna-be-here-but-I-will-if-I-have-to as she could, and rolled her eyes weakly at Allegra.

'Don't. Call. Me. Sweetie.' She growled, and the nurse retreated soon after the blood pressure was taken and recorded, looking worried that Zoe might try to bite her head off.

Allegra frowned at Zoe.

'You shouldn't have been such a doushebag, Royal Payne,' she said, and Zoe attempted to shrug, but her shoulders were slumped and seemingly useless.

'Wasn't my fault,' she grumbled. 'I…I had trouble reading the packet.'

Allegra smacked her wrist, making Zoe hiss in slight pain. 'Yeah – coz you had already drugged yourself so much you couldn't tell left from right.'

Zoe grimaced as the doctor lifted the pillow behind her head so she could sit up more. 'I was going to have a shower. I…I felt…weird.'

Allegra rolled her eyes.

'As if. Sure – you were wrapped in your towel, but you weren't wet and didn't look like you were going to be. Face it, Zoe, you're bulimic.'

The truth of the words stung Allegra as she said them, and she wondered if they stung Zoe even more.

Zoe huffed, turning her attention back to the window. 'Shut up,' she sighed, and Allegra shook her head.

'No – I mean, why did you do it?' she asked, not a sign of sympathy evident on her face. She didn't feel sympathetic towards Zoe – not in the least.

Zoe glared glumly out the window. 'I – I was depressed about Psymon.'

'You used to go out with him.'

Allegra hadn't meant to just blurt it like that, but something inside felt like she needed to get it out and in the open.

Zoe looked at her sharply. 'How did you know?'

Allegra shrugged, stalling for a lie. 'Elise was going through some of your stuff. She thought you'd nicked her hairdryer or something. She found an old photo with you and Psymon in it. On the back it was written that you and him had a fling or something.'

A tiny muscle in Zoe's jaw tightened. Allegra saw it twitch.

'That wasn't in my room.' She said slowly. 'I had thrown it out last month while I was attempting to clean that hell hole of a room I have.'

'Then why did it end up under Psymon's backpack?' Allegra probed, reaching into her back pocket and pulling the photo from where she had stowed it earlier before coming to see Zoe in hospital.

Zoe shrugged as much as she could. 'I don't know. Maybe Psymon swiped it from the rubbish bin or something. I wouldn't care. He's…he's nothing to me now. I've moved on. I was way off balance when I was fifteen. And this year has been all about finding a balance for myself.'

Allegra nodded, realising what Zoe meant. Being fifteen had sucked, and she could understand what Zoe had gone through.

'But why all the Neurophin? The Lemon Detox?' she asked. Zoe sighed heavily.

'Why do you think?' she asked, taking Allegra by surprise. 'What would you do if you were still falling over your ex and he was looking straight through you at someone else? Right now, you're the last person I'd want to talk to about this.'

Allegra's eyes widened. Zoe still liked Psymon?

'Do you…still like him? You just said you didn't like him anymore.' she asked slowly, and Zoe snorted.

'More than I should,' she said wryly, not looking at Allegra but glaring down at her hands. 'And…when he…when he did all that stuff for you…took the blame that he'd been the one who shot you…when you'd convinced him to stay that other time…it made me so mad that he looked at me like I was shit. It felt so unfair, and I was jealous of you.'

Allegra was taken aback, and then remembered how Psymon had kissed her, how she had sort of convinced him to stay.

Memories flooded back to her, cycling around her brain like a lost moth dazzled by light.

Suddenly, the idea hit her in a wave once again. This time, though, it was complete.

It would work.

Jumping up, Allegra headed for the door.

'Where are you going?' Zoe called, her eyes alarmed.

Allegra was almost halfway down the hall before she answered.

'I…I have to see Elise! And Viggo, Nate, and Kaori!'


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Plan – Z?

'No.'

Elise stood with her arms folded across her chest; her shoulder's squared as if she was getting ready for a heated argument.

'C'mon, Elise,' Allegra tried again. 'It's for Psymon.'

From the other side of Allegra and Kaori's shared room, Viggo snorted.

'Where did you wake up this morning?' he scoffed. 'Lala land? Listen, Al. Elise's isn't playing escort for no one, and to be honest, maybe it's best if Psymon goes through with the court sentence.'

Allegra rolled her eyes and ignored Viggo. Nate was sitting on Kaori's bed, flipping through a truck manual.

'I think it's a good idea.' He said, not looking up.

From where he sat against Allegra's chest of drawers, Moby chuckled.

'And I say Nate is right,' he murmured, and Elise railed on him.

'No!' she cried. 'I am _not_ getting dolled up for some _fatso_ at the police station just so you can get him drunk, make him think that I'm _interested_ in him, and then have you grab the keys and make off with Psymon! Think of the _consequences_ for once, Allegra! If you go through with this, _if_ you do manage to get Psymon out, there's gonna be a price! _And a huge one at that_!' she took a pause to breath, and Allegra jumped in.

'Listen – I'm not saying you have to. It's my first idea – and besides, it would work well, right guys?' Allegra turned hopefully to Nate and Moby for support. They nodded eagerly, much to Elise's exasperation.

'_Nooooo_,' she groaned, just as Kaori stumbled into the room, trying to balance a stack of fashion magazines in her arms.

Mac was behind her, carrying another armload.

'Mac!' Elise cried. 'Not you too!'

Mac grinned. 'Yep,' he nodded, pretending to be grim but failing miserably. 'And like it or not, Bombshell, I'm with Allegra on this one.'

Elise sighed dramatically.

'Oh _fine,_' she said, totally put out. Allegra grinned, knowing that she had won the fight. Elise slumped onto Allegra's bed, and held out her hand while shielding her face with the other. 'Do what you have to, but make it quick.'

Kaori giggled and pulled out a couple of the drawer's in her dressing table. Allegra cringed as she saw how many different make-up substances Kaori had.

'Right,' Kaori said, sitting Elise up. 'This won't hurt at all.'

'You look lovely,' Moby said with a completely straight face.

Nate was falling over himself laughing, and at that moment, Griff peaked around the door to Allegra's room to see what the fuss was about.

'Wha…' Griff asked, but didn't finish, taking in the spectacle in front of him. He immediately scoffed, trying to swallow his laughter, but choked it back up anyway.

'Shut _up_,' Elise growled, flipping a stray piece of hair out of her face. 'This is to get Psymon out, nothing else.'

Suddenly, Viggo became serious. 'Wait a minute – you guys are taking a humungarious risk, you know that, don't you?' From the looks on everyone's faces, Allegra's the most prominent, he probably guessed that they did.

'Whoa,' Griff chortled, stumbling into the room, clasping his side as if he'd been shot, although his face was alight with humour instead of agony. 'Geez, Kaori…got enough make-up on Elise yet?'

Kaori smiled and stood back as she admired her work. Allegra nodded in approval, her finger's tapping restlessly on her cast.

Nate was managing to control his hilarity enough to choke out,

'Let's see what Sergeant Fatso thinks…' he broke off again, laughing uncontrollably.

Elise groaned. 'Someone _please_ hit him.'

Allegra grinned, and stepped over to Nate. Before he knew what had hit him, he was sprawled on Allegra's floor, a bruise already beginning to swell around the area where she had thumped him with her cast wrist.

'Ow,' he groaned, and scowled up at Mac, Moby, Griff and Viggo, whom of which were all smirking at him. 'Not funny.'

'Sure was hell was,' chuckled Moby. 'I wanna replay.'

Allegra stepped closer to Nate again, her cast arm raised and an impish grin on her face.

Nate jerked away, holding his hands up. 'No.'

Suddenly, the phone in the kitchen rang.

'I'll get it!' Griff yelled, already streaking out of the room in a blur. Mac shook his head, plastering a surprised look on his face.

'Whoa – ' he said, pretending to be stunned. 'What was _that_?'

Allegra snorted, and Elise groaned, still looking at herself in the mirror, looking nervous and slightly worried.

'I think it was Griff,' Allegra said as Kaori smoothed some of Elise's hair down with a comb dipped in water. 'But I couldn't be sure.'

Nate pulled on his lucky wide-brimmed cowboy hat. 'I'm going out to make sure I've got gas.' And then, at Elise's raised eyebrows, continued. 'For my truck.'

Viggo chuckled. 'Yeah – or make sure you don't,' he said, wrinkling his nose. 'You really stink out the place after you've had Chinese takeaway.'

Nate railed on him. 'Listen, Mr I-Can't-Eat-Mexican – '

'Guys!' Moby said loudly, pulling them apart. Allegra grinned at Viggo, who shrugged. She's heard about how he was allergic to most Mexican foods, and felt slightly sympathetic for him. So much for tacos. She turned back to Kaori, who was wiping her fingers on a tissue after applying a little more makeup to Elise's face.

'Kaori – ' Allegra started, but never finished, because at that moment, Griff plunged into the room howling.

'Viiiiiiigo!' he wailed, throwing himself at Viggo. Viggo caught him, his expression immediately one of concern.

'What's up, mate?' he said, trying to calm Griff down. Griff wouldn't let go of him, and clung fiercely to Viggo's T-shirt, hugging himself closely to his Swedish friend.

'It's….' he choked out. 'It's… its Zoe…'

Allegra knelt down next to Griff, gently putting her hand on his shoulder.

'What about Zoe, Griff?' she said gently, and Griff let go of Viggo, but then threw himself into Allegra waiting arms. Moby, Mac and Nate were standing close by, and Elise was kneeling on Griff's other side.

'She…the doctor said…she…' he hiccuped, and then wiped his sleeve across his wet and runny eyes. 'She's real bad, Allegra – they don't know…if she'll – _hic!_ Survive…'

Elise looked up at Allegra, and their eyes met for a single second.

'Go,' Elise whispered, her face horrified.

'Get Psymon without me,' Allegra said firmly, ignoring Elise's objections and continuing without pause. 'I'll stay with Zoe as long as I have to.'

And with that, Allegra gingerly untangled Griff's tight grip and managed to juggle him off to Kaori, who folded him gently into a warm, soothing hug.

Allegra raced out of the room, took the stairs three at a time, stretching her legs muscles as she pounded down into the kitchen.

Going straight over to the snowboard rack by the door, she hooked her Gript Ript+Snipt Spiderwork snowboard under her arm and charged out the front door.

She was strapped in and riding before she got to the asphalt.


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Left in Maternity

Allegra coasted to a clean stop in front of the hospital. She quickly unstrapped her feet and jogged inside, breathing hard from the exercise.

'May I help you?' the receptionist reminded Allegra of her old Math teacher, sour wrinkles lining most of the face, with two beady black eyes peering out at her from behind shiny, polished glasses.

'Yeah – I need to see snowboarding competitor Zoe Payne, okay?' Allegra panted. The receptionist raised her thinly plucked eyebrows. Another put-off.

'Do you have an appointment? If you do, you'll have to wait until Miss Payne comes out of emergency. She is being treated right now for – '

'I don't care what she's being treated for! I have to see her!' Allegra cried, her grip on her snowboard tightening. If the worst came to worst, she might be able to smash the snowboard through the thin panel of glass that separated the receptionist from her reach…

But maybe not. Allegra reckoned that they would get pretty pissed of with her if she did that.

'I must ask you to leave before I call security,' the sour receptionist said primly. 'And you're tracking snow into the waiting room.'

Allegra looked behind her, and nearly snorted at the very distinct set of footprints from her snowboarding boots, covered in snow from the ground outside.

Snapping back around, she returned her attention to the reason she had come.

'Yeah, whatever. Just…just get me to see Zoe now. If the doctors find out that you didn't let me see her, you'll get canned so fast you'll fell like tuna.' She said tightly, and it didn't go down as well as she had hoped.

'And if you'll allow me to show you the door…'

'Allegra! Oh, Allegra! You're just in time!'

Allegra whirled around to see Dr Au, who had treated Psymon when he had tried to commit suicide, coming out of the emergency room.

'Dr Au!' Allegra cried, relieved to see Dr Au shoot the receptionist a dirty look. 'Is she gonna be okay?'

Dr Au sighed and looked down. 'We're not sure yet. She's been in a critical condition for over ten minutes, and we think it's because of the overdose of the Lemon Detox.'

Allegra nodded, and Dr Au led her back into the emergency room, leaving behind the receptionist to reconsider her dream job.

'Zoe has been really tough, though,' Dr Au continued. 'She kept fighting the drug, and even the medication at one point. She was asking for Psymon.'

Allegra nodded. She had half expected it.

'Yeah. I guessed she would.'

Dr Au led her to the bed where Zoe was stretched out, a gasmask over her face, the I.V drip in her arm leaking fluid into her body slowly.

Allegra slumped into the chair by the bed, and looked over Zoe. She looked even worse than before, Allegra decided.

Zoe was breathing regularly, and her chest rose and fell with her breathing pattern.

'When will she wake up?' Allegra asked, and Dr Au sighed.

'We're not sure, but she will when she's ready, and all we can do for her is to make sure she's not in any pain at the moment,' the middle-aged doctor wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, and then slumped into the chair on the other side of the bed. 'It seems as though you all have a knack for getting yourselves into scrapes.'

Allegra nodded. And as she thought about it, she realized that Dr Au was right. Allegra remembered back to when Mac had come in for check-ups, Psymon and his suicide attempt, Allegra herself with her wrist, and now, Zoe with her bulimia.

'I'd better go settle the receptionist down,' Dr Au said, getting up slowly and stiffly, as if she had been standing for a long time. 'She does get fussy with everyone who tracks snow through the hallways, and it's more often now in the winter months where December goes into January.'

She left, pulling the curtain around the bed so Allegra could be alone with Zoe.

Allegra looked over Zoe again, and then saw an inky tattoo on Zoe's side where the hospital dress uncovered part of her side where the doctors had placed a medi pack filled with a warm gel to make Zoe comfortable.

Allegra moved the material further away so she could so the image properly. It was a pure red heart with black, gothic emblems twirling around the outside of the heart. Inside the heart was one word:

_Psymon _

Allegra wondered about Zoe and Psymon as a couple. It would have been a strange relationship, one that would have often gotten out of hand.

She sighed, and then let the hospital dress fall back into place at Zoe's side. That was where Zoe would need it the most.

Suddenly, Zoe stirred.

Her fingers twitched, and she tried to muffle a groan. She reached up and took the gasmask off her face.

'Wha – ' she mumbled, wiping perspiration off her face. 'Wha…'

'Yo,' Allegra said blankly. 'Welcome back to the world of those who are sane, and those who aren't.'

'Are you tryin to lose sight of your next birthday?' Zoe growled, her voice hoarse.

Allegra grinned.

'No,' she said ruefully. 'But if you hadn't been so stupid when you took those tablets then you might have had a better chance of seeing yours.'

Zoe winced.

'I…I was so crazy – I didn't know what else to do to make Psymon notice me.' She stared up at the ceiling, and Allegra nodded.

'Yeah, well, try it when he's not in jail next time. Coz he sure as heck doesn't know about it right now.' Allegra said, and Zoe sighed.

'I know. I just…I still like him, you know? And he doesn't look twice at me. I was pretty depressed to think that he would ever want another thing to do with me after what happened,' she admitted, and then coughed. Allegra raised her eyebrows.

'You mean when he tried to commit suicide?' she asked, but Zoe shook her head.

'No. I mean…uh…you wouldn't know…' she mumbled, but Allegra coughed meaningly.

'I've got a while, might as well tell me,' she said, making Zoe roll her eyes tiredly.

'Orright,' she groaned, and tried to sit up, pulling herself up so she was sitting upright in the hospital bed. 'When I was fifteen, you've probably guessed by now that Psymon and I…you could call it a fling that never took off. We rushed, and we tripped over ourselves. And then…I got pregnant.'

Allegra's eyes widened. What…

'Psymon was…he helped me through everything. He was a changed guy, as he was trying to be good for the baby, making a good impression,' Zoe continued, and then wiped feebly at her eyes with the back of her hand. Allegra realized that there had been tears streaking down Zoe's face.

'Anyway – ' Zoe went on, trying to put on a brave face. 'We waited the nine months… we really did. I never realized that Psymon could be so patient and caring…he took care of everything…my parents never knew. They wouldn't have cared. But still…when I went into the maternity ward…my waters broke too early. It was horrible.'

Allegra reached out, and took Zoe's hand, squeezing it gently. Zoe snuffled, and then kept going with her story.

'The doctors couldn't figure out why the baby couldn't come out…everything was fine. I wasn't sick…but, then…they took out the baby through C-section, and it was – ' Zoe faltered, gathering courage to say the next word. 'Dead.'

Allegra suddenly felt a tiny plop in her lap. Looking down at her cargos, she saw a single tear drop. Reaching up and touching her face with her other hand, she felt the wetness come away on her fingers. She had been crying, too.

'A miscarriage?' she whispered, and Zoe nodded slowly.

'Psymon had been there the whole time…and when he heard that…that the one thing I'd been waiting for was dead…he left. He just got up and walked out. He never said a word to me after that, up until the last three seasons of snowboarding, and even then, it was always brief…like he only said what he had to.'

Allegra frowned. This explained why Psymon had always been so short when it came to talking to Zoe. Allegra had often wondered about the silences between them. Now, though, it made complete sense.

'I don't think that he ever got over it…' Zoe muttered. 'It – he just, just walked out on me…after everything we had.' She glared out the window, and Allegra dried the tears on her cheeks.

'I've…I've got to go, Zoe,' she said, standing up and letting go of Zoe's hand.

Zoe nodded.

'Yeah – okay. I'll try not to get myself back here again,' she snorted weakly, and Allegra was glad to see some old spark on Zoe's faint eyes.

Allegra left without another word, not even waving to Dr Au on the way out. She unhitched her snowboard from the rack outside the hospital as if she was on autopilot, and traversed slowly along the winding road that led into the heart of the town.


	62. Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Non – Breakout

'Allegra!'

'How is she?'

Allegra was bombarded with questions as she entered the Hut's kitchen, which was crowded with the others.

'She's gonna be okay,' she said, trying to keep her face smooth. 'It was a little uneasy there, but Dr Au says she's going to be okay.'

'How long til she comes out?' Mac asked. Behind him, Viggo snickered.

'Why? Do you miss her? Aw – widdle Smac wants his Royal _Payne-in-the-butt_ back,' he chanted, and Mac groaned, taking a swipe at him. Viggo ducked, but when he came back upright, Elise clipped him around the ear.

'This is serious!' she hissed. 'Zoe was in real trouble.'

Griff buried his head into Allegra's midriff, his arms tight around her waist. 'Zoe's gonna be okay to snowboard again?' he mumbled into Allegra's T-shirt.

Allegra smiled, and gently detached him. 'Yeah – she'll be okay to snowboard again.'

Griff looked up at her and smiled big.

'Great!' he said, his sullen mood evaporating in a heartbeat. 'That means the only one holding us back now is Psymon! When do we bust him out?'

'Yeah,' Elise launched into the conversation, intent on not being left out. 'And when can I get this stuff off my face? It's starting to itch.'

Kaori grinned apologetically. 'Sorry, Elise-san,' she said. 'I think I overdid it a bit.'

Allegra snorted, looking back over Elise's features that were covered in Kaori's makeup.

'Yeah – I'll say,' she said.

Moby was still sitting by the window on the stairs, and Nate came pounding down the steps behind him.

'Yo – ' Nate said, seeing Allegra had returned. 'How's Zoe?'

Allegra sighed exasperatedly.

'How many times to I have to say it?' she cried. 'Zoe's fine, for Gods sake!'

Nate held up his hands in the universal "whoa, Nelly," gesture. 'Hey – sorry. Didn't realize that you'd said so much already.'

Allegra rolled her eyes. 'Whatever.'

She went out to the kitchen window, still thinking things over. Zoe and Psymon nearly had a child. The child had died. Psymon had left. Zoe was broken.

None of it made sense anymore, no matter which way Allegra fitted the pieces of the mind-boggling jigsaw puzzle together.

Unless, of course, she had the full story…

'Guys?' she said, turning back to the group. They all stopped talking and faced her. She took a deep breath. 'It's do or die, so let's bust out Psymon.'

Everyone cheered, and then filed out the doorway. Mac, Kaori, Griff and Viggo would go in Viggo's beaten up old Ute, while Nate, Moby, Elise and Allegra would take Nate's pickup truck.

Allegra was silently reviewing the plan in her head, hoping it would work. Then, she remembered one minor detail that would make an interesting additive.

'Hey, Nate,' she said, and Nate, who was driving, looked back at her in the rear view mirror. 'Stop off at the bakery before we get to the police station.'

Elise turned and frowned at her. 'Why? What the hell are we going to the bakery for?'

Allegra grinned evilly, and Moby rolled his eyes. 'Here we go,' he muttered.

'I heard from a certain psycho birdie that a certain Sergeant Fatso likes a good serving of doughnuts with his entrée of sexy lady,' she said.

Night had fallen over the small town when Viggo and Nate pulled up to a stop on the road opposite to the police station.

The police stations bright lights shone out onto the freshly fallen snow, casting long shadows onto the ground.

'Not a place I'd like to get caught at after dark,' Mac murmured to Allegra, who shrugged.

'It could have been worse,' she said. 'We could be heading into a dark alley, probably crawling with rats and wheezing pizza faced crack-head punks who like to conduct "business" at two in the morning. Take your pick.'

Mac went a shade pale. 'I'll…uh…I'd take the police station.'

Allegra grinned. 'Me too.'

Elise and Moby came over, all business. 'Okay,' sighed Elise, the makeup accentuating her Canadian features. 'What's the plan, Al?'

Allegra took a deep breath, blowing out a cloud of swirling smoke. It was cold, and she was glad she had chosen to wear her insulated gloves that JP had given her.

'We send you in with the doughnuts – ' she began, and then looked around. 'Aw, shit, who nicked the doughnuts?'

Kaori laughed and patted her backpack. 'I put them in here,' she said, 'so that Griff wouldn't get to them.'

Allegra sighed with relief. 'Good – okay, you go in, get him to believe that you'll take him downtown to the nearest pub, and get him out of our hair. We'll then go in, thump anyone who tries to stop us, Nate can bust open the lock on Psymon's cell, we grab Psymon and make a dash for it. Moby then stalks into pub, yells at Elise, and drags her out of there. The stuff in between can be improvised.'

Allegra's plan was met with various levels of enthusiasm, and most of the enthusiasm was on the sarcastic end of the scale.

Mostly, she got raised eyebrows and sarcastic "uh-huh's".

'Okay – screw that – ' she started over, thinking quickly on her feet. 'We check out how long it's gonna take to get him out without thumping anyone and we see if we can't get him out early.'

Elise looked like she was ready to burst.

'You mean I got jazzed up for nothing? Man – you are sad if you think I'm going along with Plan DumbArse! I'm so totally gonna go for Plan A if there's nothing better!'

Everyone nodded, and suddenly, there was a voice from the police station steps.

'Hey, you! What're you doing, hanging around here at this time?'

Allegra whirled, sending snow spraying towards the deep, intruding voice.

She was about to say, "Ordering a pizza, F.Y.I," when another voice cracked the tense atmosphere, sounding worried for the first time Allegra could remember.

'Guys? Where's Zoe?'

Everyone's eyes widened, but Allegra was the only one to find her voice.

'Psymon?'


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Never Shine If You Don't Glow

In actual fact, Elise's makeup wasn't needed, because Psymon had been released that night, on account that a group of detectives had found DNA that wasn't his on the rifles trigger, therefore announcing that he was innocent. So he got off lightly.

The trip back to the Hut was silent, with the exception of Psymon's constant pleas to know about Zoe.

'Seriously, I'm gonna break something if I don't know,' he growled, and Allegra rolled her eyes at Nate, who returned the gesture.

Finally, after five minutes of continuous growls, threats, pleas, and verbal grovelling from Psymon, Elise just about screamed in frustration, but didn't because Griff was sleeping in the back of Viggo's car.

'All right!' she hissed quietly. 'We'll tell you everything as soon as we get inside, we promise!'

Allegra snorted softly. 'Some hopes. You guys can explain, coz I'm gonna hit the sack.'

Nate nodded. 'I second that. I need my beauty sleep.'

'What's with this whole "beauty" thing?' Moby asked from the drivers seat, and Nate grinned tiredly. 'I wouldn't call you beautiful to save a life.'

Elise groaned, but Allegra quickly snapped back.

'Only coz you don't know how.' She said, and Moby chuckled.

Psymon sighed heavily, but lapsed into a dark silence that weighed in on everybody. Allegra could almost feel _wring their neck_ vibes radiating off him, and understood how he felt.

She remembered back to when Connor had broken his leg in an ice-skating accident, and her parents wouldn't let her see him for a long time, until he hobbled out of the ward to see Allegra himself.

As Nate pulled up into the Hut's snow-covered driveway, Psymon just about torn the door off its hinges to get outside.

Elise got out more slowly, and Allegra followed behind Nate. Viggo went around the back to carry Griff out of the back of the car.

Psymon grabbed Allegra's shirt before she could go anywhere.

'Tell. Me. Where. Zoe. Is.' He growled, the threat ripping through his chest in a fierce snarl. Allegra shoved him back, but he didn't let go. He was right up in her face, his eyes promising violence if he didn't get answered.

'She…' Allegra began, but Elise grabbed Psymon's arm and yanked him back before she could continue.

'Let her go, Psymon,' she said firmly, but Psymon jerked away from Elise.

'Hey!' Mac cried. 'Leave her be!'

'Psymon!' Viggo hissed, frowning at Psymon as he shoved passed him, carrying Griff inside.

'Shut up!' Psymon cried, and Allegra was surprised to hear tears choking his voice. But when he raised his head to glare at her again, his eyes were dry. 'Where is she?'

Allegra was so tired of this strong-picking-on-the-weak thing. Besides, she wasn't even weak. She was strong. She was a survivor, a survivor of Psymon's wrath.

'She's in hospital!' Allegra spat into Psymon's face. 'Okay? She's bulimic, and she's in hospital! There's nothing you can do about it, Sketchy! She's a bitch to even _think_ that she still likes you, even though – oh, yeah, she _does!_ Even though you walked away from her after _your baby died!_ How can you live with yourself? Thinking every night, oh, well – it's just one of those days – you're…you're…you're a brick-headed dick with no sense of reality!'

Psymon actually stepped back, taken by surprise at Allegra's fury, and let go of her slightly. Everyone around them was silent, and Allegra jerked herself away from Psymon, still glaring daggers and poison at him, and stalked into the Hut.

No one had expected Allegra to burst like that, and she surprised even herself.

She'd had enough of this whole heartache thing.

Allegra woke in the late morning, and saw that Kaori was already wide-awake, texting on her pink phone.

'Ohio – ' Kaori said softly when she saw that Allegra was awake. 'Are you okay after last night? You really put Psymon in his place.'

Allegra sighed, rubbing grit from her eyes.

'Uh – kind of. He's such a dick, Kaori…' she mumbled, and Kaori stowed away her phone. 'Can we – can we talk about something else? Non maniac related?'

Kaori giggled. 'Sure. Other boys, then?'

Allegra shrugged, picking at the cast on her arm. It was due to come off in a couple of days. 'Okay. I don't mind.'

Kaori sat up, and started telling Allegra about a boy from Japan that went to her school, and the conversation flowed from there. It stopped abruptly as Kaori went silent.

'Run out of things to say?' Allegra teased, now fully awake.

Kaori smiled shyly. 'No – I just, I was thinking about…'

'About what?' Allegra pressed, and then turned to check the door was closed. 'What were you thinking, Nishi?'

Kaori slid off her bed and came over to Allegra's side of the adjoined room. Allegra scooted over so Kaori could sit down next to her.

'What do you think…about Mac?' Kaori whispered, blushing slightly.

Allegra was taken aback.

'Wha – what do you mean?' she asked, and Kaori looked up shyly.

'Don't you think he's cute? And he's so sweet, Al…' she said, getting a dreamy look in her eyes. Allegra thought about Mac for a moment, and then back to the possibility of Mac and Kaori as a couple.

She had seen them together before, working side by side, or riding together as riding partners – they were part of each other's every day life.

But when she thought about Mac on his own, Allegra saw a completely different person. She saw someone who had M.S, surrounded himself with music and video games, often challenged her and Griff to monopoly and always somehow won.

But now Kaori had brought it up, Allegra realized just how sweet and caring Mac was. He _was _kind of cute, but not in the Connor had been to Allegra.

Connor had been fun, alive and forever energetic, always on the prowl for a new challenge, whether it was snowboarding, ice-skating, or something else. Mac was quiet when around people, but he could whoop up a storm when riding in the backcountry.

'Yeah – he's cool,' Allegra couldn't think of anything else to say. Kaori sighed, and glanced up at her.

'I've…I've seen you with him Al. You're really lucky that he likes you,' she said softly, and Allegra's eyes widened. _Kaori had seen them together?_

'Kaori…' she began, unsure of how to continue. 'Mac – Mac and I are just really good friends, that's all. It's nothing big.'

Kaori shook her head.

'I saw you guys together that first night on Peak One – he really likes you a lot, Allegra,' Kaori said, seeming slightly envious. Then, she added, 'I wish he would look at me the same way he looks at you.'

Allegra looked down at her hands, fidgeting with her cast a little. 'But – but Kaori, don't you see the way he watches you when you snowboard?' she asked, thinking back to some of the times when she'd seen Mac watching Kaori's Big Air tricks in awe. 'Haven't you ever noticed the way he's kind of clumsy around you?'

Kaori looked up, as if seeing something for the first time.

'You mean…' she whispered. 'You mean that Mac…'

'I'm not saying he's all over me, coz he's not,' Allegra said. 'But he sure as heck doesn't watch where he's going when you're in the room.'

Kaori's eyes widened.

'Ton-demo nai,' she whispered, and Allegra raised her eyebrows.

'In English, please?' she said, but Kaori didn't say anything.

Truth be told, Mac _had_ been watching Kaori a lot more than he had Allegra, and know she thought about it, Allegra realized just how perfect Mac and Kaori were for each other. The only problem that stood between them was that they were way to shy around each other.

'Oh. My. God.' Kaori said, and then jumped up, heading over to her desk, and slumping into her chair. 'But what…what if he _doesn't_ like me, Al? What if he's only pretending to like me?' she asked, and Allegra shrugged.

'We'll just have to find out, won't we?' she said, grinning evilly and sliding off the bed, shoving her feet into her boots. 'Shall I…' she continued, gesturing to the door.

'No!' Kaori cried, her eyes like huge saucers. 'No, no! You can't tell him! He'll think I'm a cush! I don't want him to think that! Oh, what'll I do?'

Allegra snorted.

'He's the kind of guy that can probably deal with a girl smitten all over him,' Allegra said. 'Besides, you'll never know if you don't ask…'

'Please don't!' Kaori cried again, grabbing Allegra's arm. 'Oh – Allegra, if you do, I won't be able to face him ever again! I'd be sooo embarrassed!'

Allegra smiled, and turned away from the door. 'Okay,' she surrendered. 'I won't ask him to go out with you.'

Kaori slumped against Allegra and sighed with relief.

'Thank Goodness,' she breathed, and Allegra laughed.

'Yeah, yeah,' she said, disengaging Kaori gently. 'But right now, I gotta have some breakfast.'

Kaori nodded, but watched her all the way until she was down the hallway and into the kitchen. Allegra shook her head in wonder. She didn't understand this whole embarrassing-crush thing.

Maybe when she was older, like say, twenty.

Maybe then, but not now.

Yeah – that sounded like a good idea.


	64. Chapter 64

**Part Six:**

_This ISN'T a Passing Lane…_

Chapter 64

Strangers In The Woods

Allegra reached the kitchen to find it empty. There was a note on the table from Viggo, saying that he and Griff had gone to practice the Intimidator one last time before the finals in two days.

Nate had left a scrappy note on the table saying he had gone back down to Peak One to see his horse which was stabled in the Lodge's barn. Allegra never realized that there had been a horse there in the first place.

Elise had written a message on the message board that hung on the wall saying that she was going out into the Schizophrenia again, and Moby had left a text message on Allegra's phone, simply saying "Launch Time, bac soon."

She wondered where Mac was as she poured some cereal into a bowl. Jeez – she wondered how her family was coping. She hadn't actually gone ahead and called her parents over Christmas. She had completely forgotten with Psymon in jail and Zoe going into hospital.

Allegra wondered if Tom still thought that she was up herself. She remembered all of the angry texts he'd left on her phone, demanding to know why she went, blah, blah, blah.

Tom had been her best friend for such a long time, it almost felt like they were siblings, and when Connor had moved to Virginia, he'd been accepted straight into Allegra and Tom's tight friendship.

Allegra sat down at the table, which over looked the main valley that separated Peak Two and Peak Three – and Allegra couldn't help thinking that she would soon be up there, taking on some of the most difficult slopes and, as Atomica put it, "terrain that bordered on the insane".

As she ate slowly, Allegra watched the darkening winds and clouds threaten to drop more snow and hail and rain. The weather had been bad on Peak Two for a long time, and Allegra could only imagine the devastation the storms would wreak on Peak Three's backcountry.

Several trees had collapsed on the road the night before, and Allegra watched as Dave battled the wind and pelting snow to try to move the branches off the driveway.

Dave. Allegra knew him really well now. He was funny, alert, fair, and always keen to help anyone who needed it. Allegra wondered what Damien was doing, if he was still coaching kids back at the Arena.

Suddenly, Allegra realized who hadn't left a note. Psymon.

No doubt he was with Zoe in the hospital, trying to make up to her in the most pathetic way he could dream up.

Which, Allegra thought, would be roses and poetry. But still.

Getting up to put her empty cereal bowl in the sink, Allegra let her mind wander away from Psymon and Zoe to Mac.

He was the other one who hadn't left a message. Allegra turned to the snowboard rack, and reached for her Gript, Ript+Snipt snowboard.

Suddenly, Mac burst through the front door.

'Allegra?' he said, breathless. Allegra whirled to see him pale faced, anxious and scared looking. 'Where's everyone else?'

Allegra shrugged. 'Out. Everyone left a message but you and Psymon. Where were you? What's going on?'

Mac wiped a hand across his sweaty forehead. 'Geez – Psymon went to the hospital to see Zoe. Is Kaori upstairs?'

'Yeah, why?' Allegra asked, concerned by the paleness of Mac's face. 'What's wrong, Mac?'

He just stood there for a moment, shaking all over. Then, he took a deep breath and took off his headphones. 'The woods are crawling with hunters.'

Allegra's eyes widened. 'What? Hunters? But this is private property!'

Mac nodded. 'I know. I needed to make sure Kaori didn't go out there by mistake –' he caught himself, and paused for breath.

Allegra dived in, suspicious about these hunters.

'Where did you see them?' she asked, and Mac pointed out towards the Slopestyle event track.

'They were out there – and they looked real bad, Al. Like, they had rifles, packs, and geez – if anyone had crossed their path…'

'Mac!' Allegra cried, grabbing Mac's shoulders. 'Stop! No one is out there right now! Viggo and Griff are practicing the Intimidator, Nate's on Peak One, Elise is on the Schizophrenia, Moby's going through the Launch Time, and Kaori's upstairs! There is no one to worry about!'

Mac's shoulders slumped, relieved. 'God – I was so worried when I saw them,' he said pulling out a glass from the cabinet beneath the kitchen counter. 'I had this horrible feeling that Kaori or you might try to go out on your own and get caught up among them…'

Allegra smiled, taking the lemonade out of the fridge and pouring some into Mac's glass.

'You shouldn't worry about it. I'll call Greg and alert Atomica, and things will be taken from there.'

Mac nodded. 'Okay. I was just…you know, really concerned for you guys coz you two are the only ones up here apart from me.' He said, casting nervous glances towards the stairs.

'Mac?' Allegra asked, stowing away from the lemonade. She had a sneaking suspicion that Mac might just… 'How long have you known Kaori?'

Mac looked up, surprised. 'Uh…since the beginning of the season, I think,' he said, thinking hard. 'She was a newbie, like you, Nate, Griff and Viggo.'

Allegra nodded, considering. 'Yeah – I knew that, but – seriously, Mac, do you like her?'

The question seemed to surprise Mac even further.

'Uh…like, you mean as a friend? Then, well…yeah, sure I like Kaori…'

'No, Mac,' Allegra said, cutting straight to the point. 'Do. You. Like. Kaori?'

Mac faltered, and then nodded shyly. 'She's gorgeous,' he mumbled.

A smile danced its way across Allegra's face. Kaori had nothing to worry about. Mac, however, seemed to think that he'd said the wrong thing.

'I mean – I've always liked her, Al, nothing changes that. But…but I like you, too. Every time we've…we've been together, I've always wanted Kaori to see that I'm not a geek with M.S. That I _can_ go out with girls. That I'm…that I'm almost normal.' He stuttered, trying to cover up his confession. 'But…aw, Al…'

Allegra grinned.

'Don't worry about it,' she said, and Mac looked up at her, stunned. 'I know that a certain little Japanese birdie likes a certain snowboarder that is always first on the parks and pipes and the same guy whose the last to pack it in at the end of the day.'

Mac looked overjoyed. 'She – she _likes_ me? Oh – man, Allegra – I … I dunno what to think.'

'Then don't,' Allegra said, taking him firmly by the shoulders and propelling him towards the stairs. 'Just go and tell her. And by the way, I had _nothing_ to do with this, okay?

Mac nodded, looking like his nerves were about to snap with excitement. Allegra couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Mac look so happy.

Suddenly, before Mac could move, there was a loud _crack_ from outside, and they both froze.

'Gunshot,' Mac whispered hoarsely, paling again. 'It's…'

'Those arseholes!' Allegra said angrily. 'They better get their sorry butts off our circuits before – '

'Allegra!' Kaori came thumping down the stairs at full tilt, and then stopped when she saw Mac, and lowered her voice slightly. 'Oh – hi, Mac.'

Mac swallowed, and Allegra wished that he would just say that he liked Kaori so it was over with and they could all be happy.

He actually opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by another loud _crack!_

'Hunters,' Kaori whispered, and Allegra nodded, her fury refuelled.

'Let's go teach them a lesson or two about violating snowboarders circuit space,' she said darkly, reaching for her snowboard.

Mac and Kaori were at her heels as she raced out the door.


	65. Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Surprises

Allegra, Mac and Kaori reached the woods edging the circuit closest to the Hut, the Style Mile.

The Slopestyle event track was empty, without a hint of any life.

'It _was_ coming from this way,' whispered Kaori, and Allegra nodded.

'Yeah – I heard it from over here, too,' she agreed, and then, Mac tapped her on the shoulder.

She whirled to where he was pointing, and saw them.

Kaori glanced past Allegra to see the hunters as well, and nearly gasped when she saw them.

There were three of them in total, and Allegra flipped open her phone, opening the camera icon.

She managed to take several photos of the hunters, and realized that there were two men and one woman. She wondered why a woman had come out into the blustering winds to go hunting.

Allegra quickly sent the photos on a text message to Greg, typing underneath them:

**To: GregSumich**

**From: Big Al**

**Subject:**

Yo! Dese r sum photos K.N, M.F & me got of sum huntrs dat r in da Style Mile. Wotcha want us ta do? Leev dem or tel dem 2 get fked?

Allegra sincerely hoped them Greg was using his phone, or that he didn't have it turned off.

Kaori and Mac were still watching them, and together, the three of them followed the hunters carefully through the cover of the woods, and Allegra was thankful for her dark jacket.

Occasionally, she heard bits and pieces of what the hunters said, mostly about the lack of birds, and something about clay doves.

The rifles cocked over their elbows disturbed Allegra, and she had notice Kaori try to cower back into the undergrowth several times whenever the hunters happened to turn in the direction of the three under cover.

Suddenly, her phone jangled into life. Mac and Kaori's eyes went wide as Allegra fumbled to shut off the loud clanging that was swept away by the howling wind.

A text had come in from Greg.

**To: Big Al**

**From: GregSumich**

**Subject:**

Are you following them? Is so, don't let them out of your sight and alert Atomica. He'll send the Osprey out and pick you guys up, and then he can approach the hunters and tell them to scat.

Otherwise, stay close, together, and safe. Don't let them see you or let them know you're there.

Allegra nodded to herself and closed her phone. She quickly explained the plan to Kaori and Mac, and they made a silent agreement.

'Are they still there?' Allegra asked, her voice only a dull sound snatched by the wind and craning to see the three hunters.

Who had disappeared.

'They're…gone,' Mac said, sounding hollow and scared. Allegra gripped her snowboard tightly and looked around her, but there was too many trees and coverage in the way to see anything on the outside.

'Who was watching them?' she hissed. Kaori cleared her throat.

'I was,' she said, looking uncomfortable and guilty. 'I'm – I'm sorry.'

Allegra shook her head. 'Nah – don't worry. I'll just – '

A snapping branch behind her cut her off, and suddenly, a deep voice sneered,

'Ordering a pizza?'


	66. Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Laurent, Molly and Josh

Now, you may not know this, but everyone reacts differently to being surprised and growled at.

Allegra was one of those people that would whirl around and quip,

'Yeah – you want pepperoni?'

Which is exactly what she did, only to get clipped around the side of the head with the butt of a rifle.

'Allegra!' Kaori cried, and was immediately down at her side. 'Al, get up!'

Allegra struggled to her knees, a sharp pain radiating out from the side of her head where she had been struck, and forced herself to look up at her attacker.

Mac was standing fiercely between them and the hunters, who were laughing like maniacs.

'Sweet Jesus,' one chortled, his rifle cocked over his shoulder. 'Not one to jump out of your skin, are you?'

'Steady, Laurie,' the girl – a teenager – said. 'Braided bitch might try to bite you. And the kid might attempt to stuff his headphones down your throat.'

'I'm not a kid,' Mac growled, sounding for all the world like a tiger. Kaori helped Allegra to her feet, and she leant heavily on her Japanese friend.

The three hunters looked as if – well, like a hamster had just snarled at them. Then, they burst out laughing again.

Mac shot them the bird, and then turned carefully to Allegra. 'You okay?' he asked, and she waved him away, feeling Kaori's eyes on the two of them.

'I'm fine,' she said quietly, and then turned to the hunters and yelled, 'You guys better get lost, coz this actually happens to be private property of the SSX committee.'

Even to Allegra, that sounded uselessly pathetic. It also seemed that way to the three hunters.

'Ooooooh, wotcha gonna do?' the third member of the trio asked, faking scared while still laughing. 'Throw your board wax at us?'

That set off a whole new round of laughter, and the girl even fell to her knees, clutching her sides.

Allegra saw her chance, and quickly stepped beyond the safety of Mac's shadow.

She strode forwards, and then swung her foot back, and when it came forwards again, she dug it deep into the snow, spraying the girl with the light, cold slush.

The laughter immediately broke off, and the two guys looked totally knocked, as if a two-year-old had just slapped them senseless.

'Whoa,' the first guys said. 'You were serious, right? You guys really want to take us on?'

He came forward swinging his rifle down from his shoulder, and cocked it so it was aiming straight at Allegra, close to point blank range.

'You wouldn't,' she snorted. 'You wouldn't have the guts to kill me.'

'Allegra,' Kaori squeaked from behind Mac's arm. 'Please, don't provoke him.'

The girl was getting to her feet, still brushing snow from her jacket. 'Laurent,' she said sharply, and the first guys – Laurent, turned to look at her.

'Leave them. She's right. We are trespassing, and seriously, this place sucks for hunting anyway.'

'Yeah!' Mac said, his M.S and fright forgotten. 'That's why it's called a snowboarding circuit!'

The second guys shrugged. 'So? Some dude in that backwater bar scammed us. Come on, Mol', let's go. Coming, Laurie?'

He took the girl by the shoulder and started downhill. Laurent backed away, but was still watching them from the distance that he put between himself and Allegra, Kaori and Mac.

They were out of sight before Allegra let out the breath she'd been holding.

Kaori grabbed her arm. 'He was going to shoot you!' she cried, but Allegra shook her head.

'No, he wasn't,' she said. 'But their gonna be sorry.'

Grinning evilly, she pulled out her phone and flipped it open.

'Why?' asked Mac, leaning over her shoulder to see what she was doing.

'Coz I'm alerting Atomica, like Greg told me to.'

Kaori laughed slightly, and Mac rolled his eyes.

'Yep – that's you,' he said. 'Allegra the Goody Two Shoes.'

'We weren't doing anything!'

'Shut _up_!'

'Allegra!'

Atomica looked like he was about to burst at the seams. Allegra felt the same, but her anger was directed at the three hunters they had encountered earlier.

Now, though, they were all out of the weather in the safety of the Hut's kitchen, and Allegra took an angry bite of an apple, chewing loudly.

'Okay,' Atomica took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool. 'Listen, you guys broke a serious law that'll come down on you heavily, and so we're trying to keep this quite, _aren't we, Allegra?_'

Allegra shrugged, almost radiating anger. Kaori had gone upstairs to change out of her wet clothes, and Mac was making coffee.

The hunting trio were standing soggily around in the kitchen, sullenly holding mugs of hot cocoa, and Allegra was lounging upside down across one of the sofa's in the lounge that joined onto the kitchen.

'What's gonna happen to us?' the girl asked, looking as sorry as she did wet. She had introduced herself as Molly, and she was seventeen years old.

'Who cares,' Laurent, who was twenty-four, and Molly's big brother, shrugged. 'So long as old Braids here doesn't rat on us again we should be okay to go soon.'

He glared at Allegra, who pulled the finger at him. She was so angry; she could have happily rearranged his teeth, but that would have upset Kaori, not to mention Greg and Atomica.

The second guy, Josh, was nineteen, and was Asian looking. He mostly stayed quiet, only putting in his two cents worth when Molly or Laurent railed on him for support.

Suddenly, Elise, Moby, Griff and Viggo came in the front door.

'What the fresh hell is this?' Moby demanded, and received a slap from Elise.

'Shut it, you cretin. There's a kid present.' She snapped, making Griff pout and Viggo wrap his arms around Griff's shoulders.

'He's not really a kid anymore,' Viggo said, and then turned to the newcomers. 'So wadaya say, doofuss's? What are you doing on our mountain?'

Laurent was about to rag on again, but Allegra threw the apple core she was holding at him. It bounced off the back of his head, and he spun around, his freckled face alive with anger.

'Hey –' he began, but Atomica raised his hand for silence.

'Just,' he said sternly, 'be quiet.'

And, as strange as it seemed to Allegra, Laurent actually went quiet.

'Okay,' Atomica said more quietly, and then turned as Kaori came down the stairs. 'Hey, Kaori. All right, listen up, guys. For those of you who've just come in, this is Laurent, Molly and Josh. They were hunting illegally on the circuit.'

Everyone who had just stepped inside looked gobsmacked, and just stood there like fish out of water; gaping and staring.

Finally, Elise managed to find her voice.

'They…were…what?' she croaked, and Kaori went to sit beside Allegra for comfort, and Viggo sat on Allegra's other side with Griff on his lap, even though she was still upside down, Griff took hold of her hand. She squeezed it gently and gave him a reassuring smile.

'Hunting,' Mac said, coming through from the kitchen with a mug of hot coffee in his hands. He offered it to Allegra, who pulled a face at the smell, and then shrugged and turned to offer it to Kaori, who accepted it with more grace than Allegra could have ever mustered.

'Yeah – ' Atomica tried to get in first again, but was cut off by the door opening again.

Allegra sat up to see who it was, and everyone else turned to see the newcomers.

It was Psymon, and in his strong, wiry arms…was Zoe.

'Zoe?' Allegra said indignantly. Zoe had her arms wrapped weakly around Psymon's neck, her head resting limply against his tough chest. 'What the heck are you doing out of hospital?'

'You should still be there – ' Elise was cut off as Psymon's lip curled back and he snarled at her. Zoe didn't say anything, only sighed and looked kind of sad.

Psymon prowled passed everyone, including Laurent, Molly and Josh, as if they weren't there. He stalked up the stairs, still silent, and disappeared over the landing.

Everyone's stunned faces were none to match those of the soggy hunting trio, who looked totally lost.

Allegra snorted, thinking how chaotic her life was.

'Talk about surprises,' she muttered, and Kaori nodded in agreement.

'I know the feeling,' muttered Elise.


	67. Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Psymon and Zoe

Allegra passed Zoe and Elise's room the next morning on the way back to hers from the bathroom.

The night before, Psymon had hauled all of Zoe's shit out of her room and had left it scattered along the hallway. He'd also ripped the gothic black curtains off of her window rails and had stripped her bed of the tie-dyed sheets that Allegra was sure Zoe had done herself.

Allegra had waited and watched while Psymon worked furiously and silently, with Zoe lying limply on a nearby couch.

All through it, Zoe had said nothing. No smart comments, no grumbling, no nothing. It was strange it see her so silent, and Psymon wasn't much better, but he occasionally muttered something to himself or Zoe, and she would either nod of shake her head slightly, because that was all she could manage.

Allegra, Elise, Moby, Mac and Viggo had watched as Psymon had settled Zoe onto the sofa in the rec room, covering her fragile body with a warm blanket. Allegra never imagined Psymon this way, and found it dumbfounding that someone so feral could be so…well, tame. Like a housecat trained to tuck in their owners at night.

Griff and Kaori had gone to bed long before, but Allegra was sure that neither had slept for a long time, and had listened to every clatter and bang that Psymon made while shoving Zoe's junk out into the hallway with an old broom.

Nate hadn't yet returned from Peak One, but he had sent Atomica a text message saying he would be back tomorrow – and Atomica had passed the notification around the rest of the group.

Now, though, Allegra headed down the hallway to see if Zoe was still asleep in the rec room.

She looked inside, and saw the couch empty, the blanket rumpled but covering nothing.

'Zoe?' she asked out loud, looking around. No, she thought. Zoe would still be too weak to move around on her own.

Allegra heard low voices coming from Psymon's room a little way back down the hall, and she backed up quietly, straining her ears to hear what was being said.

One voice was definitely Psymon's, and the other…the other was soft and croaky, like the owner had been eating sandpaper.

Allegra put her ear to the door and listened intently. Words and bits of what was being said drifted through the door to her.

'…Will be fine. Promise.'

'You're promises aren't worth crap, Sketch'. I can't…can't live like this.'

The voices faded into nothing, and Allegra heard a shuffling. Then, Psymon spoke softly again, his voice so low that it nearly sounded dangerous.

'As soon as those mother fucking retards get shunted outa here, I'm gonna make doubly sure that you get back on track,' he murmured, and Allegra only had to wonder briefly who the "mother fucking retards" were. Molly, Laurent and Josh, no doubt.

'Nah – ' Allegra now recognized the voice. It was Zoe. 'Dave'll skin me alive when he figures out how much Detox I was taking.'

There was a hushed laugh, and Allegra knew it was Psymon. 'No he won't. If he tries, then I'll show him what it's like to ride the Big Air currents without a snowboard.'

Allegra knocked on the door lightly, and there was a moment of silence.

Then, there was a growl from behind the door.

'What?' Psymon's voice was a low sneer.

Allegra opened the door, and what she saw made her stop cold.

Psymon and Zoe were lying in the tangle of what looked like the sheets of Psymon's bed, with Zoe lying on her side against Psymon, and Psymon lying back against the pillows. One of his strong arms encircled Zoe, and the other was hanging loosely over the edge of the bed.

'Am I interrupting something here?' Allegra asked cautiously, and Zoe shook her head before Psymon could snap.

'Nah – it was cold on the couch,' she said weakly, although Allegra doubted that fact with the statement as Zoe had had the blanket that Psymon had oh-so-thoughtfully come up with the night before.

'Riiiight,' Allegra said slowly, as if Psymon might try to pounce on her, even though he looked almost docile at that moment.

'Leave or have your throat ripped out,' Psymon muttered, and Allegra backed out slowly. Obviously, Psymon still hadn't forgiven her for exploding at him the other day.

'Whatever, man,' she said, hands up in surrender. 'Just – for God's sake, if you can clean the Royal Payne's room like that, try doing the same trick in here.'

She gestured around her, to the mess that seemed to be Psymon's room. The wallpaper was ripped, the window was cracked, the curtains were torn, the carpet was scuffed with dirt mixed with melted snow, and the desk that sat to one side was in shambles. Even the light fitting swung loose of its covering, wires and cables exposed like a naked body.

'Jeezum – 'Allegra said, pretending to cover her nose. 'Should I call the pest control?'

Zoe rolled her eyes weakly.

'No – but we need to,' she croaked, blatant that she was so close to Psymon. 'So if you don't want us to, face off.'

Allegra shook her head. 'Hey – fine, look, I'm leaving,' she stepped back over the threshold to prove her point. 'Should I send for room service?'

Psymon snorted.

'Only for those who did the feel regal while we chow,' he retorted, 'here in the Palace bedroom.'

Allegra chuckled. 'Yeah – the Palace of Gaylord's,' she ducked out the door just as a heavy brass object was thrown at her head.

She was still laughing at the end of the hallway.


	68. Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Target – _Not_ The Shopping Centre

When Allegra reached the kitchen, she was greeted with the usual hustle of the mornings, with Griff and Elise arguing over how much toast could be squeezed into the toaster oven, Mac and Moby fighting over what music to put on, and Viggo and Kaori disagreeing on what colour the sky was.

Allegra almost smiled at the chaos. It seemed…so much different to what she was used to at home, back in Virginia.

She remembered her older brother Jakyb and Mom fighting over the bathrooms in the mornings, Dad spilling tea or coffee on the bench, and using the butter knife for the jam.

She could clearly remember waking up to the smell of burning toast and shouts from her brother that he was late for work and would be taking the family car, leaving Mom and Dad stranded.

And most of all, Allegra remembered one morning when it had been her fifteenth birthday, and Tom and Connor had swung around before school with presents, hugs, and cheerful reminders that she still had to go to school.

The chaos back there seemed minimal to what was going on in the Hut's kitchen, with Elise now pouring Viggo's untouched coffee down the sink, Moby telling Griff to move over so he had space to fill a bowl with cereal, Mac grabbing down his snowboard and trying to weave passed Kaori, who knocked into him and then fell over herself trying to apologize to him, and Viggo then swearing at Elise in Swedish for pouring his coffee down the drain.

'Ah,' Allegra sighed, muttering to herself. 'The joyful life of the never-ending cycle. Oh – God, Moby,' she said louder, her voice rising. 'Watch where you're pouring that freaking cereal!'

Moby glared at her. 'Just coz you're going for the Gravitude on Peak Three but that doesn't mean you can act like you've already won it.'

'Suuuure,' Allegra rolled her eyes. 'Just because you couldn't win any other event than your precious Crowsnest.'

Moby shook his head and went back to spilling cereal. Allegra shrugged at no one in particular, and then headed out to the granny flat that joined to the Hut, where Laurent, Molly and Josh had been put up for the night.

Atomica had called Greg up from Peak One, and Greg had promised to bring Nate back with him when he came to sort out the hunting trio.

Allegra reached the granny flat door, and heard voices coming clearly from inside. She crouched down outside one of the windows and cupped an ear against the hard wooden surface, ignoring the fact that her cargos were getting soaked with the freshly fallen snow.

Listening intently, she heard Laurent's loud voice causing vibrations through the wall.

'…And then she said to knock out the DJ if he was any trouble!' Laurent cried, and Allegra's mind ticked over, slowly, registering what he said. 'I mean – what kind of order is that? It's like…like saying…'

'Laurent,' Josh said, sounding calmer. 'If M.L wanted us to shoot the Japanese girlie, she would have said to. The DJ is just an additive – you know, something to spice it up.'

Allegra's eyes widened. The DJ…Atomica! And Kaori, too. Was the Team under threat from the hunters? Allegra grimly pushed the thought out of her head that Marisol could possibly be behind everything. But "M.L" sounded suspicious…

Suddenly, Molly's voice came in, and Allegra heard bits and pieces of what she was saying to the others.

'…They're not that bad. The boss wouldn't let us be here if she wanted us hurt. Besides, I like Allegra. She's not that bad…apple core incident was funny.'

Laurent snorted. 'Was not.'

Now, Josh chuckled. 'Actually, it was pretty funny. She was real mad, though. Gotta know your enemies, Laurie.'

Allegra could imagine the look of frustration on Laurent's face. But then, she remembered why she was listening in.

Suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder. Spinning quickly and without thinking, she grabbed the hand and wrist that had her and pinned it behind its owner.

Nate ground his teeth.

'Chill, Al,' he said. 'I was just coming to ask if you were cold.'

Allegra let out the breath she was holding in, and let go of Nate, keeping her voice low in case the three inside the mini cabin could hear them.

'Don't sneak up on me like that. Besides, weren't you supposed to be visiting your nag on Peak One?' she asked, and Nate nodded.

'I was,' he said, also keeping his voice quiet, an automatic reflex. 'And when Greg said that Atomica had called about a couple of hunters that you guys had seen, Greg said it would be best if I came back with him. You know, if things got messy and stuff.'

Allegra sighed softly and nodded. Then she motioned to inside the cabin, and Nate looked at her curiously.

She cupped her ear to the wall again, gesturing that she was listening. Nate caught on and knelt in the snow next to her and pressed close to the wall as well.

'…Sauvagess bitch should drop off a cliff,' Laurent was saying to the others. Obviously, he didn't like Allegra as much as Molly did. Allegra rolled her eyes. It was totally old slander and she was used to it.

'There was supposed to be ten riders. I only counted nine. Where was the one they called…what was his name? Logan or something?' Josh said, and Molly sighed heavily.

'Nate. His name was Nate Logan, dimwit.' She said, and Nate raised his eyebrows at Allegra, who shrugged apologetically. There was nothing she could do to explain at that moment.

'Hey – ' Laurent said, and suddenly, he stopped. Allegra held her breath.

Everything was silent from inside the mini cabin, and Nate's eyes widened at Allegra, who could only return the gesture. _Caught? _He mouthed, and Allegra shrugged again.

'Who…' Molly's quiet voice was smothered as a shot was fired, and Allegra felt the vibration rattle the walls, and explosion shatter the windows, raining glass and snow that had dared settle on it's frame down on Allegra and Nate.

Laurent and Josh were at the window immediately, their thickly gloved hands protecting them from the shards of glass.

Allegra felt the same as she had when her wrist had been broken: shell-shocked, shook up and numb. And barfy, but that was a minor effect.

Nate was covering her, putting his body between her and Laurent and Josh.

'What the fuck was that?' Laurent exclaimed, and Allegra dropped to her knees and rolled out from under Nate, totally furious now that she could think clearly.

'What do you think?' she yelled, pointing to the shards of glass that littered the snow. 'I would have thought you can't talk and fire a rifle at the same time, let alone carry out a conversation!'

'What the hell?' Molly called from inside, and then poked her head out of the door. 'We didn't fire those shots! Someone from _outside_ did!'

'Yeah,' Josh said, his Asian complexion pale. 'See? The glass imploded, not exploded. Only some glass shattered out onto the snow.'

He pointed, and Allegra saw what he meant. Flashing a look at Nate, who seemed to realise what she was thinking.

'Duck!' he cried, and Laurent and Josh dropped out of sight at once, and Molly disappeared from view, presumably behind the door.

Nate grabbed Allegra and tossed her into a snow bank as if she weighed absolutely nothing, and then dived after her.

Allegra heard several more shots being fired, ricocheting off the snow and popping bark off the surrounding trees.

Nate was pressed against her, and Allegra managed to peer out from under him, and saw where the shots were coming from.

There was a crag up to the north of the mini cabin, out of range of the Hut, but close enough to hit the cabin itself. Four black figures, human shaped, were standing there, standing out against the white and grey of the snow.

'Nate!' she choked, trying to point at the figures, but Nate didn't respond. 'Nate!'

He was still breathing, so Allegra guessed that he hadn't been shot, and he ground his teeth. 'What?'

'Up there!' she said, and Nate looked carefully over his shoulder.

'Shit,' he muttered, then, he raised his head to a yell. 'Laurent!'

Laurent's face appeared in one of the side windows of the cabin, and Nate gestured to him for one of the rifles.

He disappeared, and then the window slid open, and a rifle was projected out. It landed about ten feet away from where Nate had shoved Allegra into the snow bank, which was shrouded by a clump of dried shrub; its bare branches caked with snow.

Allegra squirmed out from under Nate, but he held her back before she could dart out of the coverage they were in.

'Let me go!' she hissed, nearly thumping Nate with her cast again. Her left shoulder downwards was throbbing nastily after being thrown into the snow bank. 'I can get it if I'm fast. I'm a smaller target than you!'

Nate shook his head. 'No. They'll just take pot shots at you.'

There was a frustratingly cold logic to Nate's words that made Allegra grind her teeth. It really bugged her when she couldn't think of a better solution, and she had a reputation for thinking quickly and getting herself out of tight spots in record time.

Not this time.

'Please, Nate,' she begged, and his face hardened. The figures on the crag were taking turns to reload, and two were still standing, but not firing anymore.

'No,' he said stubbornly, but Allegra shoved passed him with all of her strength, and then dived for the rifle.

Shots started popping off around her, spraying and splashing snow everywhere. Allegra dived into the snow where the rifle lay, and scooped it up in one smooth movement, and then used the force of her land to swing her arm back and throw the gun back to Nate, who caught it quickly. She didn't even feel the force that threw her arm even further back.

He checked for ammunition as Allegra scrambled up again, still dodging shots from the figures on the crag. She darted back to the snow bank, and they stopped firing once they saw she was under cover.

When she looked up at Nate, she didn't expect to see him so pale.

'What's wrong, Nate?' she panted, wiping sweat away from her forehead. His eyes were glued on her arm, and Allegra looked down.

She groaned as she saw with numb shock the blood seeping from the wound in her arm. The bullet had only grazed the skin, but it had scooped out a trail of flesh as well. The only reason why Allegra couldn't feel a thing was because of the cold air and the chill all around her.

'Aw no,' she muttered, and Nate nodded. 'Not again.'


	69. Chapter 69

Chapter 69

At Stake

Before Allegra or Nate could say anything else, there was a loud explosion from the peak where the shooters were positioned.

Allegra whipped her head around to see Atomica's Osprey veer away from the explosion, which left an eerie after-shock silence, and through the silence, Viggo's gleeful voice emerged.

'YEEEE – HAH!' he screamed, and Allegra caught sight of him in the Osprey's hold, the side door flung open. 'Flash bangs are _FOREVER_!'

'That was dangerous!' Atomica's own yell was easy to hear, and Nate tugged Allegra up by her good arm. Blood surrounded them on the snow, and Allegra pulled the bandana she had been wearing off of her head and wrapped it as best she could around the wound before the numbness wore away.

'You okay? Apart from that?' Nate was still pale, and his voice held fear. Allegra nodded.

'Yeah – I'm good,' she said, and then watched the Osprey come into a safe landing on the helipad that lay some hundred meters from the Hut.

The flash bomb had probably just created a huge bang and a blinding light, but even so, Allegra felt slightly sick at the fact that people could have been killed. Even people who were trying to kill her.

The rest of the Team were racing from the Hut, and the trio from inside the granny flat had cautiously crept out of hiding.

'What happened?' Greg yelled, his face pale and snow settling on his moustache. 'What in blazes happened?'

Viggo dropped out of the Osprey as it came closer to the ground, his jacket and hair flying. Atomica pulled the aircraft up again to see to the shooters on the crag.

Psymon and Zoe emerged from the Hut, Zoe moving unsteadily, with Psymon walking slowly alongside her, and arm out and ready in case she fell.

'Someone using explosives without me?' Psymon called, and Elise shot him a disapproving look.

'No, but Viggo – ' Elise turned to see Allegra and Nate coming over, and spotted the blood blossoming from the bandana on Allegra's arm. 'Oh. My. God, Allegra…'

'I'm fine,' she muttered. 'I was just clipped with some shot, that's all.'

'You're bleeding really badly!' Kaori cried, and then she turned and raced back into the Hut for a first aid kit.

By this time, Dave had joined Greg, and they were coming over the gathered team.

'Allegra,' Dave said, his voice tight with concern. 'Are you okay?'

'I said I'm fine!' she snapped. She tried to lessen her anger. 'I'm fine,' she said again, but more quietly this time.

'Do you need to go to hospital?' Zoe asked, and then shivered. 'Grrr. I hate that place.'

Allegra did her best to smirk. 'Me too.'

Griff came up and wrapped his arms around her waist just as Viggo came up and Kaori, followed by Mac, sprinted from the Hut and up to the rest of them.

'Sit,' Kaori instructed, and Allegra sighed and plonked herself down on the snow. Kaori knelt down next to her and started to gently peel off the bandana.

'Why were they here? Who would want to do that to us?' Elise asked, but before anyone could answer, Greg interrupted.

'I'm sure Atomica will find some survivors,' he threw a deadly glare in Viggo's direction, even though he didn't look straight at Viggo, 'and we'll go from there.'

'It was only a medium sized one!' Viggo objected, and Greg seemed to ignore him. 'It wouldn't have hurt anyone!'

'You shouldn't have done it in the first place,' Nate said critically, and Viggo shrugged.

'So what? It's just a little bit of – ' Suddenly, Elise grabbed Viggo and covered his mouth with her hand to stop him saying what he created the bomb with. Viggo mumbled into her hand unintelligibly, and then sighed and went quiet. Only then did Elise let him go.

'You shouldn't have had those flash bangs anyway,' Dave said, and Allegra heard the scorn in his voice. So did Viggo.

'But – they were a present. My sister – ' he started, but Greg cut him off, whirling around to face him.

'I wouldn't have cared if your sister gave a radioactive nuclear missile. You shouldn't have had them, end of story. And as a consequence, you're banned from the finals. They've been allocated to a time slot next week, and you will not be competing.' Greg said firmly, and Viggo's jaw dropped.

'Wha – ' he stumbled, and Allegra felt her eyes widen. Viggo? Not allowed to compete? Greg shouldn't have that kind of authority…

'But,' Viggo tried, shaking his flyaway blonde hair out of his eyes. 'But…Allegra's my riding partner! You want her to compete alone?'

Allegra bit her lip. She was more than capable of tackling the Ruthless Ridge race on her own, with or without Viggo. But he did have a point. All riders had to have allocated partners to compete…

'But that means I'm out as well!' Allegra cried, suddenly realizing. 'If Viggo's not competing, then I can't either! You can't just change the rules, can you?'

Greg railed on her. 'Since when did you start following rules?'

'Since there were people other than me breaking them,' Allegra spat, and then hissed in pain as Kaori swabbed the area around the wound on her arm. 'Hey! Be careful with that! I'd like to keep most of the skin on my arm, thanks!'

'I'm sorry, Al,' Kaori murmured, sounding hurt and shocked at Greg's announcement. The rest of the Team were all looking lost, including Elise, who had always looked so in control before. Now though, she just looked plain confused.

Greg sighed.

'If I can allocate you a new partner by Friday, then you're still in the race,' he told Allegra, who scowled at him, and then again as Kaori started wrapping a fresh bandage on her arm, binding it tightly. 'I'll be calling on Viggo's parents for an emergency meeting, as this decision may cost him his career.'

'My career?' Viggo cried, sounding incredulous. 'Who cares about my freaking career? All I care about is snowboarding, and being good at it! Why'd you have to drag my parents into it? They're, like, working! Had you forgotten?'

Greg raised his eyebrows.

'I'm sure that Mr and Mrs Rolig will be more than happy to fly out here especially to find out how their son is doing, even if it isn't good news.' With that, Greg turned and headed off to where Atomica was landing the Osprey, to check on the shooters.

Atomica yelled something to him over the wind that disturbed the snow on the landing platform, and Greg then yelled something back before ducking low under the rotor blades and heading into the hold of the aircraft.

Viggo slumped against a nearby tree, muttering to himself in Swedish. Nate took a deep breath and turned to Dave.

'Isn't there anything you can do to change his mind?' Nate asked, and Dave shook his head sadly.

'I'm sorry, guys, but this one's out of my reach. Greg's decision is always final. You should all know that by now.' Dave said, and Allegra stood, suddenly furious, yanking away from Kaori.

'I don't care what Greg's decision is!' she cried, waving her good hand in the air. 'If Viggo can't compete then neither will I! I don't care how many possible partners Greg picks out! I won't compete!'

Viggo looked up in surprise, and Psymon gave a low whistle.

'Man – ' he said. 'Nothing like a little fury around here. If that's all, I'm going back inside.'

'Me too,' Zoe agreed, and the two of them headed back into the Hut. Elise rolled her eyes and sighed.

'Why couldn't they have been able to agreed on stuff like all this shit before? And by the way, Scanner, nice work.'

'It's not my fault!' Viggo yelled, and then Mac held up a hand.

'Hey everybody,' he said, and everyone went silent, looking at him expectantly. 'Shut up a second. Has anyone see Moby?'


	70. Chapter 70

Chapter 70

The Truth

Everyone stopped, and looked around.

'Yeah…' Elise said slowly. 'Where is he?'

Allegra scanned the nearby landscape. 'Did he even come out?'

Nate nodded.

'Yeah – I saw him when Elise and Griff came out. He was behind you guys.'

'I know,' said Griff, looking puzzled. 'He said that…uh…what did he say? Elise?'

Elise shrugged. 'I don't know. Something about Viggo being a cretin, no doubt.'

'Hey,' Viggo said defensively. 'The flash bang wouldn't have hurt anyone.'

With that, everyone turned and looked over at the Osprey, where Greg and Atomica were questioning the stunned-looking shooters. All were dressed in black. One pointed over to the group, and Greg turned to look at them, his eyes resting on Allegra.

'I think I've got something to do with all this,' she said, and then looked back up to the ridge where the shooters had been positioned.

There was someone outlined by the small fire the flash bang had caused. Allegra recognized the figure and nudged Nate.

'Look,' she said, and everyone else looked up as well. 'It's Moby.'

'What's he doing up there?' Mac asked, and Kaori shrugged, packing away the first aid kit.

'No idea,' Elise said. 'But it's probably not the greatest idea to disturb him right now.'

'Why not?' Griff asked, tugging on Viggo's shirt. Viggo absently scooped him up into his arms.

'Because Moby's had a rough past involving fire,' Elise answered, and Allegra wondered what had happened. It didn't sound too happy from the way Elise said it. 'He's probably reliving the memory.'

'Of what?' Allegra probed, but Elise turned away, as if realizing she had said too much.

'I don't know,' she sighed. 'I'm heading back inside.'

She left, and Nate then turned to Laurent, Molly and Josh.

'Did you guys know about that lot?' he asked, jerking a thumb to the shooters. Molly was clinging to Laurent, who had a protective arm around her. Josh stood behind Laurent at his shoulder, as if ready to back them up in a fight.

'No,' Laurent said, frowning at the group. 'We had nothing to do with those – '

'Quit lying!' Molly cried, and then burst into tears. 'We…we had to…'

Josh took over as Laurent soothed Molly. 'There was this woman, right? She told us that if we didn't try to take Allegra out then something real bad would happen. We didn't want to, but you made us so angry.' He said, and Allegra pulled a face at him.

'That's vile!' Kaori shuddered, stepping unconsciously closer to Mac. Griff paled and glanced up at Viggo, who hugged him tighter.

'Yeah – ' Laurent agreed. 'But you deserved it!'

'Deserved it how?' Allegra spat, her arm stinging and her mind buzzing. Why did they want her? What did she know…

'She said that you knew something real important, something that would foil her plans big time. We agreed to help, but we didn't know we had to try and kill you,' Josh said, losing some of his cool.

'I don't believe you guys,' Nate said, and then grabbed Josh's arm. 'But you can explain yourselves to Greg, Dave and Atomica.'

'What?' Laurent cried, pulling Molly along as they all headed towards the Hut. 'You guys can't make us cough up the truth!'

'Well, you've been doing a pretty good job of just now,' Allegra said nonchalantly. 'I guess you can just do it all again.'

Later that night, after Greg had turned the shooters into the police and the hunting trio had also been handed over, Allegra went up to the ridge to see Moby. He'd been up there all day, and Elise and Nate had taken turns to take him food and drinks.

Allegra climb the rugged path carved into the snow and ice without much difficulty; she had gone on ski hikes with Connor often enough.

When she reached the small alcove, she saw that Moby still had the little fire going, despite the bitter weather.

'You planning on staying up here for the rest of your life?' she asked, and Moby turned to look at her.

'No,' he said softly. 'I'm just…thinking.'

He was holding a small candle that seemed to be made out of snow and fire, which was an odd combination. He noticed Allegra staring at it and shrugged.

'If you have a dry piece of wood, light it, and then pack dry snow around it then you've got a makeshift candle,' he shrugged. 'They last for ages.'

Allegra nodded and came to sit next to him by the small fire. 'Viggo's flash bang didn't actually hurt anyone, did it?'

'Nah,' Moby shrugged. 'I was in the Osprey with Atomica and Viggo when he let it off, and Atomica then asked me to start gathering up the shooters before they recovered. When I saw that Greg and Dave had everything under control, I decided to stay up here.'

'Why?' Allegra asked, and Moby motioned to the small flames.

'When I was about fifteen, my momma died in an accident involving fire,' he said quietly, and Allegra pricked her ears, sensing a story coming on.

'What happened?' she asked, and Moby cleared his throat, making the small candle tremble slightly.

'My momma was a champion snowboarder, and one day, on the biggest snowboarding event of the year, she traversed too close to an oil tank. Everyone thought it was empty but some dick head threw a lit cigarette butt out onto the course, and it landed in the barrel. My momma never saw it coming.'

'That's like what happened to Cherri Greene,' Allegra said, and then looked over at Moby. She was shocked to see a single tear budding in his eye. Then she realized. 'Oh.'

It all fitted together. Cherri Greene had died in the snowboarding accident exactly like the accident Moby's mother had been in. It had been on the same day.

'Cherri was…' Allegra started, and Moby nodded.

'My momma.' He finished, and then, he tossed the candle gently into the small fire, making the snow hiss as it melted into the flames. 'I've been praying for her. Ever since that day I've hated fire.'

Allegra nodded. She knew what it felt like to lose a loved one.

This was no different.


	71. Chapter 71

Chapter 71

One Week

'One week?' Elise cried, waving her arms in the air. 'One frickin' week?'

'I'm sorry, Elise,' Greg said, leaning casually against the kitchen counter. 'But that's all we can hold off for until we have to do the final races here on Peak Two.'

'One week of misery knowing I have to face my parents,' muttered Viggo, picking sullenly at a loose thread still attached to the couch. 'Then, it's do or die for me.'

'Shut up,' groaned Nate, who was sprawled on the sofa opposite Viggo. Allegra slammed the fridge door closed, and then turned to Elise.

'What are you so worked up about?' she asked, frowning at Elise, and Elise sighed exasperatedly.

'What am I so worked up about?' she repeated. 'I'll tell you what I'm so worked up about. Zoe's in no shape or form to be riding, Viggo's out, and that means you too, and everyone is just bumming around like the worlds gonna end tomorrow!'

Zoe looked up from the table, licked some ice cream away from around her mouth, and then said defensively, 'And just who's carrying on about me not being able to compete? Fucking hell, Bombshell, you underestimate me big time.'

Allegra cast her a withering look. 'You're eating _ice cream?_ In the middle of winter?'

Zoe shrugged.

'So what?' she asked. 'Psymon said I'm not eating anything else until I've finished the entire twelve-pack. He said that these were the only ones with the highest sugar content he could find. And then he growled at me for objecting violently. After that, how could I refuse such a lovable image?'

Nate snorted, and Allegra rolled her eyes at Elise, who returned the gesture.

Psymon had gone to fetch Moby, and Kaori had just dragged Griff off to bed. Allegra, Viggo, Nate, Elise, Zoe and Greg were the only ones still up and around in the Hut's kitchen. Dave had stayed behind at the police station to clear up the mess the shooters and the hunting trio had stirred up.

Greg sighed.

'It's no good eating really sugary things, Zoe,' he said. 'They're only going to make you more sick. And we can't have that.'

Zoe shrugged again.

'If it stops Psymon trying to tear my head off, I'm all for it,' she said nonchalantly, taking another bite of the ice cream sandwich.

Elise groaned as she wove between Allegra and Greg with a hot cup of coffee. 'I'm turning in,' she said tiredly. 'I think that goes for all of us.'

Nate struggled to his feet, pulling himself up and twisting around so that his spine cricked, and then he sighed contentedly. 'Ahh. That's better.'

'It's gonna wreck your back,' Allegra said over the lip of her own cup of milo. 'Not to mention your riding.'

'Like you'd be caring,' Nate muttered, and then followed Elise down the hallway to his own room, branching off at the end of the hallway instead of going into Elise's. Allegra smirked as she thought of it, and reckoned that it was a wise idea. Elise could get fairly snappy.

Before Viggo could start on at Greg again, Psymon and Moby trudged through the front door. Neither of them looked or said anything to anyone, and only went their separate ways to their rooms.

'Good night,' Viggo muttered sarcastically, rubbing his eyes and sitting up as the two of them let the front door slam behind them. 'And come again.'

'You lot better get off to bed,' Greg said to Allegra, Viggo and Zoe. Zoe sighed and tossed the ice creams pop stick into the trash.

'Yeah – well, night all,' she said, sounding suddenly exhausted. Allegra could see the rings around her face, and wondered if Zoe was still crashing in Psymon's room. They hadn't said a word to each other all day, and Allegra guessed they were still getting over Zoe's ordeal.

Sighing, she placed her cup into the sink and headed down the hallway towards her own room.

All night, Allegra tossed and turned.

She couldn't sleep, because the rising panic of riding out alone on the Launch Time without Viggo as a partner made her shudder and made goosebumps rise on her skin.

Finally, Allegra tossed back the quilt, glad that Kaori had closed off the sliding door that separated the two joined rooms, like it had been on Peak One.

Allegra stuffed her bare feet into her snowboarding boots and slipped out of the dorm, her white nightshirt and boxers catching the light from the moon that shone through the window in the hallway.

She crept down the hall a little way until she came to Viggo and Griff's shared room. The door to Viggo's was open; the one to Griff's was closed.

Allegra stood in the doorway for several moments, deciding whether or not to go back to bed or to see if Viggo was awake. Right now, she needed to talk to him.

She could see the lamp was turned on where it sat on Viggo's bedside, and the light outlined the lanky teenager as he sat cross-legged on the bed, his head bent over a comic book.

'You still read those things?' Allegra couldn't keep the whisper from rising in her throat. Viggo jerked his head up, and Allegra realized he was holding a pencil.

'Oh – man, it's just you.' He said, sounding relieved. 'I thought you might have been Greg. Shvinehund.'

'Okay, enlighten me,' Allegra said quietly, coming over and sitting on the edge of Viggo's bed. 'What's a Shvinehund?'

Viggo grinned.

'It's the ultimate insult by calling someone a Shvinehund. It means, "pig dog" in German. Like I said, Greg's a Shvinehund.'

Allegra raised her eyebrows.

'I hadn't heard that one before.' She admitted, and Viggo grinned again, bending back over the comic book, scribbling furiously.

'That's what they mean when they say that you learn something new every day,' he said, and then grabbed an eraser that sat next to his lamp and rubbed out something on the comic book. Allegra was consumed with interest.

'Why are you scribbling on the comic book?'

Viggo looked up in surprise, and then chuckled quietly. 'I'm not scribbling on a comic book, Al. I'm _making _one.' He held up the book, and Allegra saw that Viggo had drawn out panels for the pictures and had started to sketch rough figures into the panels themselves. It was like a Superman comic, with the panels on all different angles for different effects.

'Wow,' she whispered, impressed. 'You're great at art.'

Viggo smiled, and started to sketch a face, manga style. 'If I wasn't a pro at snowboarding,' he said slowly, concentrating on the sketch. 'I would be a graphic arts designer. Or a comic book artist. Manga comics, especially.'

'You'd be good at it,' Allegra said, and Viggo looked up, his eyes catching the light of the lamp and suddenly, Allegra's heart gave an unexpected squeeze. The look Viggo gave her reminded her so much of Connor…

'Al?'

'Wha – yo?'

Viggo snorted gently.

'You were miles away, man,' he chortled. 'Miles and miles.'

'Where…what do you mean?' she asked, and Viggo shrugged, finishing the face sketch and moving on to the new panel.

'I meant that you looked kind of dreamy, like you were remembering something from ages ago. Am I right?'

Allegra shook herself. 'Kind of…yeah.'

'I'm nearly always right,' Viggo said smugly, and suddenly, Allegra thought of something.

'You weren't so right today with those flash bangs. You stuffed up majorly, man.' She said, and Viggo bit his and stopped drawing.

'Yeah…I guess I did. And I'm sorry, too,' he said, sounding sincere. 'I didn't mean to leave you partnerless. Honest, Al. I just wanted those jerks to stop shooting, and Griff was scared – ' he cut himself off. 'I'm rambling.'

Allegra's brain snagged the words he'd just said. Suddenly, it all seemed so clear…

'I know why they were shooting at us!' she whispered excitedly, adrenaline pouring into her veins. Viggo put aside his pad and looked at her intently.

'Why?'

'Remember back at Christmas? When I ran out onto the road and saw what was in the back of the truck? They know that I know and they know that since I know, I have to be taken out! It wasn't the trio that they were after, it was me!' she said, and the words that tumbled from her mouth sounded so real it made her dizzy.

'Whoa,' Viggo said, raising his hands in the universal "whoa, Nelly" gesture. 'Back a moment. Go back before you started saying "know" so much.'

Allegra took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

'When I ran into the street at Christmas,' she said more slowly, and Viggo nodded along as she talked. 'I saw what was in the truck. Those guys that were shooting at us today knew that I had seen what was in the truck, and so they had to try and stop me from telling everyone. It seemed as though they were after Laurent, Molly and Josh at first, but now that I think about it, it had to be me they were after!'

'Yeah,' Viggo said, lighting and catching her drift. 'That makes sense, really. But – what was in the truck? How can you have sat on this from three weeks ago?'

Allegra was struck by what he said, and he had a point. What had she seen? It was something bad. Really, really bad…

'I remember,' she said finally. 'We've got one week to get up to the Peak Two race, and then it's the showdown. In the back of the truck, I saw several huge canisters of C4.'


	72. Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Holy Sh*t

Viggo stared at Allegra, and Allegra stared back.

'We've got to do something,' he murmured, and she nodded.

'Yeah, but what – ' Allegra was cut off as Viggo scrambled up from the bed and started digging quietly around in the drawers of his desk for something. He pulled out the small remote bat, and brought it triumphantly back to the bed.

'This has a built in camera inside every angle of it,' he said, and pressed a small button on the side of the plastic bat. It whirred into life, and Viggo placed it next to his laptop on the bedside, and pulled a small chip from the underside of the bats wing.

'This chip will tell us if you really saw C4 in the back of the truck,' he said, and plugged the chip into the laptop, which immediately purred into life.

The screen flashed as it recognized the chips hard drive, and then it showed white static, before clearing into a video camera's screen.

The screen showed the angry faces of the men that Marisol was with, and Viggo froze the screen at one point when there was a good view of all of them.

'There were about ten of them, weren't there?' he asked, and Allegra nodded.

'Yeah. Keep going for a little,' she said, and Viggo pressed the play button on his keypad, setting the screen into motion again.

The video feed kept playing, and the grainy image flashed back into life, and then became slightly clearer as Viggo reset the digital feed connection. It showed the truck from the tiny bats point of view, and then Marisol and the men hurrying to get into the truck.

Allegra watched as she saw herself burst from off the side of the screen, heading towards the truck. She saw one of the men pull out a shotgun, and saw the shot being fired.

'Oh shit,' she muttered. 'That's what happened. I remember it.'

'Really?' Viggo whispered, flicking a nervous glance her way. 'I remember crouching there and hearing the shot, and then lots of people screaming. I was too scared to look up and see what could have happened to you. I'm sorry.'

'Don't be,' Allegra said softly. 'I'm okay now, aren't I?'

Viggo nodded, and then looked back at the video as it continued.

The screen showed Allegra fall backwards, and then it swooped in close to her falling. It then shifted so that the bat would be looking up into the truck.

The doors were swinging closed, but there was a flash of silver and a black-and-yellow hazard sticker.

Even though the film was grainy and pixellated, Allegra and Viggo could clearly make out what the label said.

WARNING: C4. TAKE EXTREME CAUTION.

'Holy shit,' Viggo muttered, and Allegra nodded.

'I was thinking that.' She said. 'This is reeeal bad.'

Viggo stopped the tape and looked at her seriously. 'We have to tell Greg.'

'As soon as possible,' Allegra agreed.


	73. Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Scepticism

Allegra had crawled back into bed at about two am, but still, sleep wouldn't come to her naturally. Instead she went over what she and Viggo would say to Greg the next morning. It couldn't be as simple as walking in and saying, "oh, hi Greg. I'm being hunted by Elise's cousin and some of her gang-bangers because I saw that they had a huge pack of C4 back at the Christmas Pageant and Psymon never really should have gone off to jail and if we can work it out we'll live happily ever after."

Nah. It was never that simple.

She lay awake until dawn; all the while she was tortured by visions of what could happen if Marisol's plan might have really worked. The shooters on the crag hadn't been the best idea Allegra could think of, but it was probably better than anything else she could come up with.

What would be next? An ordered pizza intercepted and replaced with a bomb? Getting shot at while on one of the tracks?

Finally, as Allegra listened to Kaori getting dressed on the other side of the screen door, she drifted in and out of sleep, until she couldn't keep her eyes open.

Then, she slept. Finally, and peacefully.

'Allegra!'

'Wha –?' Allegra jolted upright in bed, grabbing at the sheets. She blinked and opened her eyes to see the piercing sunlight streaming in her window. 'What the – '

'My parents are here!' Viggo hissed. 'They've just arrived!'

'What?' Allegra asked again, squinting at him. Then, she remembered. 'Aw, crap! Jeez, what's the time? Holy mud…' she flung off the doona, and hurried to pull on some jeans and a proper T-shirt.

Viggo turned around as she got changed. 'I can hear them talking downstairs. Lucky for Greg they speak English pretty well, although sometimes I wish they didn't.'

'How come you don't speak Swedish as a first language?' Allegra asked as she tore off her nightshirt and shrugged on her Midnight Sunflower tank top.

'Because my parents moved to America before I was born, and wanted me to speak English as a first language instead of Swedish. What about you? Aren't you French-American?'

Allegra paused, and then shoved her feet into her boots. 'Yeah. But I hardly remember any of the French crap that my grandparents wanted me to know.'

Viggo laughed nervously and then followed Allegra as she headed out the door. 'Right. It kinda makes sense, though.'

'It better,' Allegra muttered as she tromped down the hallway with Viggo just behind her. She stopped just before they reached the turn in the stairs that would lead them into the lounge/kitchen. Allegra heard two adult, Swedish accents talking on and off, sometimes unintelligibly, and others Allegra could make out what they were saying. Viggo nudged her.

'That's them,' he murmured, and Allegra peeked around the side of the wall. She saw Greg sitting in one of the recliners, and Viggo's parents were sitting across from him on one of the couches.

Viggo's parents were sitting up ram-rod straight, their backs perfectly aligned, and they held their heads up with an air that said they weren't going to accept any kind of bullshit.

'They don't joke around either,' Viggo murmured, as if reading her mind.

'Are they always so uptight?' she whispered, and Viggo nodded, wincing as if he was remembering painful incidents.

'…And then there's the subject of Viggo's latest exploit with his explosives,' Greg said, and Allegra tuned in to the conversation.

'Ahh, yes,' said Viggo's mother, her voice crisp with a Swedish accent. 'We are well aware of the mayhem that our son causes. His tricks and tomfoolery will only be temporary.'

Allegra frowned, and turned to Viggo. He bit his lip and didn't meet her confused look. He didn't have to. Greg asked the question that was pounding in Allegra's head.

'Why?'

Mr Rolig cleared his throat. 'Because, as high-level ski instructors, we go from place to place. It is like a mountain hopping tradition we have that keeps us and our business moving. We have allowed Viggo to stay here and compete merely so he is not in our way or exploding anything in the meantime.'

Greg cleared his own throat, seeming somewhat surprised at this statement. 'Well, if Viggo is relocating, then I will have to find his current riding partner a permanent switch. Of course, if you wish for Viggo to stay here until the season is over, we're more than happy to keep him under our watchful eye.'

Behind her, Allegra heard Viggo hiss through his teeth. She knew he didn't want to be relocated; she was guessing that this was possibly the best place he'd been in a long time. He nudged her gently, and then pointed out to the front window. Allegra saw a car pull into the driveway, and saw JP get out, followed closely by Socks, who was bounding around happily.

JP shook off his coat and came in quietly. Greg looked up.

'Ah,' he said, standing as JP hung up his coat. 'JP, these are Viggo's parents. Mr and Mrs Rolig, this is JP. He's on of our old competitors whose come back to help out for this season.'

Mr and Mrs Rolig also stood in politeness, and shook hands with JP, and then cast sceptical looks at Socks.

'And this is Socks, my dog,' JP said, obviously trying to sound friendly, even though Allegra could hear the tightness in his voice.

'Ah, yes, well,' Mrs Rolig cleared her throat, and from where Allegra was watching, she could almost feel the negative vibes radiating off of the Swedish ski instructor. 'We have a rule in Sweden where animals are not prohibited inside of houses. I assume that this is not the case here, am I correct?'

JP looked offended, but covered it up with a phony smile. 'Oh! Well, sorry, Mrs Rolig. I have had Socks since she was born, and, quite frankly, we've never been apart. I'm sorry if you aren't normally used to having animals inside, but I can't leave Socksie out in the snow.'

JP reached down and rubbed Socks behind the ears, as if to prove his point. Greg sighed and intervened. Allegra saw both of Viggo's parents take deep breaths, as if they were going to hold their breath until Socks was outside again with JP.

But JP stubbornly went over to the kitchen counter and made himself a cup of coffee, sensing the "chuck them out" vibes from Mr and Mrs Rolig and gleefully ignoring them. Socks sat at his feet happily with her tongue lolling out, grinning impishly at Viggo's parents.

'They hate dogs,' Viggo whispered to Allegra, and she nodded as she watched Greg guide the two seething instructors back to the couch while JP lounged in the kitchen with Socks, encouraging her to jump up at him and scratching her behind the ears.

'I noticed. I'd hate to see their reaction to Psymon,' she whispered, and she heard Viggo struggled to cover up a smirk. After all, Elise had once claimed that Psymon had guerrilla and hyena genes in him, not to mention the ever-present smell of wet dog.

Mr and Mrs Rolig sighed as they realized that JP wasn't about to leave, and then attempted to continue the conversation as if he wasn't there at all.

'So, I assume that Viggo's highly set standards have been kept up throughout this season while he's been here?' Mr Rolig said crisply, his Swedish accent deep and rough.

Greg nodded sharply, and Allegra knew fully well that Viggo had basically been a whirlwind of happy-go-lucky tricks and tomfoolery, many things that he'd been recognised as the culprit for. Like when Elise's hair dryer was found dismantled, and its fan replaced with a smiley face sticker. Or like the time when Moby had been riding on the Peak One's R+B Slopestyle track, had gone onto a set of train rails that led to a shortcut finish and had ended up in the middle of Nate's best Crowsnest run, ruining both events entirely. It was later found that someone had switched the rails over on the train track with an automatic sensor device, which Viggo innocently denied ever knowing existed. Allegra knew that in actual fact, he'd designed it.

Then, of course, there was the fact of Mac's mixed CDs. He had brought back a stack full of new CDs that he was going to burn some of his music onto, and had left them on his desk when he went out to compete in a daily platinum event. When he had gotten back, his CDs were still there, but when he checked to make sure they were still blank, he got an earful of hip-hop, techno, crazed jazz and numerous other screeching tracks that couldn't be erased from the CDs. Not exactly sabotage but closing in on it, as it nearly ruined Macs ears, not to mention his pride.

About the only time that Allegra knew of that hadn't been Viggo's fault was the time when Griff accidentally trod on Nate's brand new goggles, and then buried them under a tree in the Peak One's Snow Jam so he'd never find them. Nate was convinced he'd lost them, and Allegra didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. Neither did Griff.

'…Dropping?' Mrs Rolig said suddenly, bringing Allegra back to earth. What had she been saying while Allegra was strolling down memory lane? 'I cannot believe that you have allowed this to happen to our son. We will, of course, be relocating him very soon, may I assure you. He is out of control, no thanks to his ruthless competitors and their rogue behaviour.'

'Mrs Rolig,' Greg said tightly, blushing slightly. JP put his mug into the sink and left conveniently, Socks practically glued to his heels. 'We are doing everything we can for the welfare of the young men and women on this snowboarding season, and that means taking every precaution, even if they don't abide by the rules. I have discovered that through working with this fine young people, their independence is far above the bar I set my personal goals at. Including young Viggo and his riding partner, who will have to ride with JP for this Peak's finals.'

Allegra raised her eyebrows at Viggo, who looked stunned. That was the biggest praise that Allegra knew they would probably hear from Greg when he wasn't talking to them personally, and she knew that they would have to keep their mouths shut about it.

'Viggo is turning into a highly professional young man who has the right to make his own decisions,' Greg continued. 'And if his decision is to stay on here for the rest of this snowboarding season, he is here to stay.'

Mr and Mrs Rolig were also looking shocked, but more at Greg's willingness to put up with Viggo, not his achievement.

'Well, then,' Mrs Rolig said, standing suddenly and stiffly. 'I presume that then closes this meeting,' she turned towards the stairs. 'Viggo Rolig!'

Viggo and Allegra came down the last of the stairs into the lounge room.

'Mother,' Viggo said, sounding slightly strangled. He switched to Swedish, stuttering before Mr Rolig held up her hand for silence, and Viggo fell off short.

'Not a word,' she said, and strode up to him, and looked up at him, as he was about five inches taller than her. 'You will be welcome home when you earn it.' She said, and then spun on her heels and left.

With a nod to Greg, who had also stood, Mr Rolig cast Viggo a glance that promised what Mrs Rolig had just said, and then turned and strode out after his wife. Allegra only realized that everyone in the room was holding their breath was when the front door slammed and they all let out their breath.

'Well,' JP said cheerfully, leaning in the doorframe to the rec room, Socks wagging her tail fiercely. 'That went well.'

And this time, even Greg, burst out laughing, all tension in the room completely gone.


	74. Chapter 74

Chapter 74

If You Walked Away Crying…

Greg officially announced that even though Viggo was out of the race, he had a chance to redeem himself on the Free Ride, where competitors could go on the same track, but not earn points for the tricks they performed or the first, second or third places they got.

The day progressed, with Moby moping around in the Hut all day, Elise going nuts at Nate for not helping out at breakfast, and Mac constantly changing the song tracks on the Hut's main speaker system.

For once, Griff was subdued, but going crazy on the Playstation, beating everyone else's best scores by miles, Viggo was continuing with his comic, and Kaori was mainly on her phone or on the finals track, trying desperately to improve her best time.

Allegra noticed that Psymon and Zoe were in the gazebo for a lot of the time, with Zoe starting out on her board again, getting down the basic manoeuvres, with and without a lot of Psymon's help.

Allegra watched, totally impressed, as Zoe performed a classic board flip and twist, where the rider spins in the air, vertically or horizontally, with the board twisting around them, almost like a cocoon. Zoe went for a vertical twist, which received applaud all around.

'I still got the moves,' Zoe said as Allegra handed her a glass of lemonade. 'But I haven't finished them ice creams yet.' She said it loud enough for Psymon to hear from where he was readjusting the board and the snowboard stand, and he cast her a sulky look. Zoe blew a raspberry at him, and he turned away.

Allegra shrugged. 'I guess the points won't really count for you here anyway,' she said, and Zoe nodded. Zoe had come in an extremely close second all-rounder runner up against Allegra back in Peak One; she had little to worry about with the Uber tricks and tracks, apart from the fact of the weather.

'At least we can hope that the storm holds off,' Zoe muttered, looking up at the cloudy sky through the gazebo's limelight roof. Allegra smiled.

'Maybe it'll do it just for you,' she grinned, and earned herself a punched shoulder, and staggered away from Zoe slightly, still laughing.

**MCOMM FROM: **Elise

**SUBJECT: **Mac+Koari…?**  
MESSAGE: **

_Hey, Al – did you see where Mac and Kaori went? (Winks) They've been on Twitter recently, and man – let's hope they don't read each other's blogs coz they are in LOVE. Yes, it's real and it's bad – I think they've headed out for some ALONE TIME. (Winks, nudge, nudge)._

Later that night, Allegra went for a walk out onto the ridge that overlooked the Hut on one side, and the Intimidator Race circuit.

Suddenly,Allegra caught sight of two figures standing in the snow on the ridge, outlined by the moon. She suddenly realized with a jolt who they were.

Mac and Kaori.

She slunk closer, and slipped behind a tree and from where she was hidden, she could hear every word they were saying.

'…Mac,' Kaori said shyly. 'Do you think I'm pretty?'

Allegra heard her breath as Mac thought about. His answer shocked her beyond belief.

'No.'

Kaori was stunned too, but she kept going, even though Allegra could hear her voice choking back the tears.

'Would you want to be my riding partner forever?'

Once again, Mac considered, and Allegra clearly heard his voice. It held no regret.

'No, I wouldn't.'

Geez, the next time Allegra looked at Mac person to person, she was going to smack him senseless for being so uncaring towards Kaori, even after his confession.

This time, though, when Allegra snuck a look out at them, she could see tears shining on Kaori's slender cheeks.

'Would you…' she gulped, 'would you feel bad if I walked away crying?'

Mac looked at his feet and scuffed at the snow. Allegra knew this was his big chance for redemption.

'No,' he said softly, and Kaori let the tears spill over. She turned away from him, trying to cover up her tears, but it didn't work. She started to trip and stumble down the slope haphazardly, but suddenly, Allegra saw Mac spin around and follow her. He caught hold of Kaori's arm and spun her to face him.

'Kaori,' he murmured, his hands on her face. 'I don't think you're pretty, I _know_ you're beautiful. I wouldn't want to be your riding partner forever, I _need_ to be. And if you ever walked away crying, I wouldn't just feel bad, I would just die.'

Kaori looked up at him, totally shocked. Allegra found that tears were threatening to bud in her own eyes. Mac had just…

Kaori seemed to slump, but then, she had pulled him close and was pressing herself against him, her lips planted firmly on his. Mac stepped back slightly, his hands dropping away from her face, but then they slowly came up around Kaori, holding her close.

Allegra watched them, outlined by the moon, with a gentle snowdrift falling around them, and yet they were completely oblivious to the weather. She felt her heart surge with happiness for them, knowing that this was how it was supposed to be.

Allegra saw Mac break off the kiss, and he carefully kissed away the tears that had been streaking down Kaori's face.

Kaori stepped back, and then threw herself at him, pushing him back into the snow, and they slid and toppled down the hill. Allegra could hear them laughing.

She turned back in the direction of the Hut, and she saw the light on in Viggo and Griff's window. She suddenly saw Griff peering out of the window at Mac and Kaori, looking totally bamboozled.

Then, Viggo's silhouette appeared, he saw Mac and Kaori, and slapped a hand over Griff's eyes, and dragged him away from the window. Allegra nearly cracked up.

Somehow, even with the visit from Viggo's parents stirring everything up, the day was coming to a great end. Allegra smiled to herself.

Tonight would be good.


	75. Chapter 75

Chapter 75

New Day

**To: Big Al**

**From: Damien**

**Subject:**

**Hi, Al, howz it goin ther on thoz evr-snowy peaks? I no that it'll b a bit of surpriz hearin from me now but I wanted 2 wish u luck on da Peak 2 race tomoro. Havin fun? Feelin the cold? Don't tayk it personally, but I'm NV u! B.T.W, hav u met JP yet? Yes – I no, ther's that question: "how do _u_ know JP?" Well, I'm not as old as u'd lyk me 2 b, Al. I coached JP wen he was starting out in da snowboarding scene bac wen he was about 16. Look at da difference b/twn u & him – u've been snowboarding longr and u still fall off! J.j, Al.**

**Anyway – I have a message from Tom and ur parents:**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY!**

**I no, I no. U're probably looking at a Calender now & thinkin, when did I turn 18? Yeah – u've been 18 4 about a week. On a less touchy-feely subject ur parents r fine – and have a surpriz 4 u wen u com hom, (nudge, nudge), & Tom wishes u all the best, even though hez still snorting steam through his ears.**

**Good luck!**

**Damien.**

Allegra rubbed her gritty eyes as she re-read the text message. Only after she'd read it over about five times did her sleepy brain recognize what the message actually was. When had she turned eighteen? Grabbing the Calender that was tacked to the wall above her bed, Allegra yanked it down and blinked at the fuzzy dates until her sight registered that she was awake, and no longer asleep.

Yes – Damien had been right. She'd turned eighteen last Sunday. Allegra slumped back in bed and blinked up at the ceiling, the Calender slipping from her hands. She was eligible to vote, leave home, get married –

Ew. As if she was going to get married any time soon. Allegra loved and cherished her freedom, and wasn't about to waste it by tying the knot. With anyone.

'Allegra?' Kaori's voice came through the sliding door that divided the room. Allegra rolled over and stood, stretched her muscles.

'Yeah? Come on in,' she said, and Kaori slipped inside, her face a dazzle with happiness. Allegra took a step back and pretended to shield her eyes.

'Whoa – ' she laughed. 'You are radiating happiness. What got that going?'

Kaori blushed and laughed shyly. 'Mac,' she whispered. Allegra laughed.

'Riiiight. Guess what?' she asked, not wanting to shoulder off Kaori's night, but she was eager to tell Kaori about the news. 'Guess.'

Kaori laughed again, coming in and sitting in the chair by Allegra's desk. 'Oh – I don't know. Surprise me.'

Allegra grinned.

'I'm officially eighteen.'

Kaori gasped, as if stung by a bee, but her face said otherwise.

'Really?' she asked, and Allegra nodded, smirking, as Kaori squealed in delight.

'Really what?' a voice from the door asked. Allegra looked up and saw Nate standing there, snow lining the shoulders of his jacket.

'Allegra turned eighteen like, I uh – I dunno…when _did_ you turn eighteen?' a little of Kaori's enthusiasm faded as she gave Allegra a confused look. Allegra shrugged.

'What does it matter?' she asked, and Nate snorted.

'Yeah – hey, happy birthday for when it happened,' he said. 'You wanna hit the circuit before breakfast?'

Allegra grinned, thinking about the things that Tom would have said.

'Yeah – coming, Nish?'

The alpine air was crisp and fresh, and Allegra inhaled deep lungfuls as she, Kaori and Nate stood on the crest overlooking the valley that separated Peak Two from Peak Three.

Storm clouds threatened, but otherwise, the weather was holding and the day promised to be good.

'Ready?' asked Nate, a grin tugged his rough stubble. Allegra grinned back.

'Only 'coz you're not!' she said, strapping herself in fast and taking pushing off the ground, jumping down the slope. Kaori laughed and joined her soon after, and in a heartbeat, Nate was traversing down the slope to join them, kicking up the snow. Allegra whooped as she shot forwards, and Kaori flipped over her head somewhere to her left, and the thrill of the fresh air and the cold snow made her heart sing.

Being eighteen rocked.

When they returned from the circuit somewhere around ten o'clock, somebody had obviously spread the word about her birthday, and the whole Hut had been transformed from a messy living area that seemed to have been inhabited by angry pineapples to a very clean, tidy two-storey house.

Not to mention all the balloons, the streamers, and, of course, the silence.

'Whoa,' Allegra said as she stepped in the front door. 'What happened?'

'I'm guessing somebody leaked news of your birthday,' Kaori replied, and the two girls shot glares at Nate, who whistled innocently.

'I said nothing –' he said. 'I saw no one –'

'Yeah, well – I still see no one,' Allegra said, just as the rest of the team jumped from his or her hiding places.

'SURPRISE!'

Griff flung back the curtains where he'd been hiding, Zoe and Elise emerged from the kitchen, grin plastered on their faces, Viggo and Mac lowered a massive banner that read:

**_HAPPY __FREAKING__ BIRTHDAY ALLEGRA__ FREAKING-AWESOME __SAUVAGESS!_**

Moby stepped in from the hallway, blowing what looked like a party whistle, except it shot fistfuls of confetti into the air, and Psymon dropped down from the man hole, cackling manically and covered in cobwebs. Allegra guessed he'd known would get covered in them, and that was why he was wearing the see-through plastic poncho over the top of his normal clothes. (_Normal_ could have some pretty interesting definitions when it came to Psymon, though.)

Allegra laughed as Kaori hugged her from behind, and Nate brought out a camera. The rest of the team crowded around, and Nate snapped a team shot, and then, Atomica, Dave, Greg and JP came in the front door behind Allegra and joined the photo. Nate handed the camera to Dave, who caught them all in another photo.

Allegra had seen and set up a lot of the other team member's parties in the passed, but it sent a different sort of thrill up her spine as she realized that this time, it was her turn.

It felt really, really good.

That night, after the massive party and after all the intensive snowboarding challenges and games, after the evening party and all the cake, Allegra and Viggo lay sprawled out on her bedroom floor. Most of the others had already gone to bed; it being around twelve midnight, but Allegra and Viggo had both been on sugar highs and had been unable to sleep.

Heck – Griff would have been with them but Elise had insisted he go to bed – they'd nearly had to use a tranquillizer to put him to sleep.

'That was fun,' Viggo said quietly, and Allegra nodded.

'Yep.'

Silence fell over them again, and they both just stared up at the ceiling. Viggo eventually turned to her.

'So – how's it feel to be eighteen?'

Allegra smiled.

'After…after these passed months here on the peaks, I guess I've forgotten what it's like to be living a normal life. When you're out here, you don't think about whether or not you'll get busted for not doing your homework,' she said quietly, thinking things over, almost talking to herself. 'It's whether or not you'll catch the next drift, if you'll snag a log and go sprawling – whether one of your team mates tries to commit suicide.'

Viggo winced, obviously thinking back to Psymon.

'Yeah – still. You're gonna have to remember that this isn't the extent of life.' He said, and Allegra smirked.

'It'd be cool if it was.'

'I totally agree.'

'Still –' Allegra said. 'What would you be if you weren't a pro snowboarder like the rest of us?'

Viggo snorted, but he thought about it a moment before answering.

'I think…I think I'd be a graphic book author-slash-illustrator. I've seen some amazing things happen out here, and some of those things have to stay unknown to the rest of the world, but some things would be so cool to put down on paper, you know?' he asked, and she nodded.

'Definitely.'

'You?'

Allegra smirked again, playing with the pendant that Elise had given her as a present. It was a small, 2D figure of a snowboarder flying through the air, doing an Indy Air.

'Never happen,' she said proudly, and Viggo snorted.

'Well – this has been a fresh started for some of us,' he said, getting to his feet and offering her a hand up. She accepted. 'A new day to think about the future ahead instead of our past mistakes.'

Allegra groaned.

'Don't start with the whole philosophical act!' she moaned, and Viggo grinned.

'Fine – I'm going to bed,' he announced, and she nodded.

'Yeah…guess I had better do likewise.'

Viggo left her, and she turned off her light, climbed into bed, and closed her eyes, thinking about what he'd said.

He was right – it had been a completely new day.

And she had the Peak Two race to look forward to tomorrow.


	76. Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Back in Touch

When Allegra woke the next morning, the sun was already up.

Looking out the window, she saw that weather had stayed clear, like yesterday, and that no clouds threatened the horizon. The Peak Two race was waiting.

She got dressed quickly, and grabbed her snowboard on her way downstairs. The competitors weren't allowed to snowboard on the competitive courses on the day of the event until it was their run, but that didn't mean the training pipe that Dave had set up in the barn outside was off-limits.

When she got there, though, she realized that someone else had already had the same idea as her – Zoe was already up and skirting her way along the pipe, into the air, reaching up to touch one of the beams in the barn roof, before coming back down. This, Allegra saw, was a danger to be jumping so high, but it also taught the riders how to control and time their jumps so they didn't go too high and hit the roof.

'Morning, kid,' Zoe grinned, sweat beading across her forehead as she skidding down one side of the pipe. Allegra realized that Zoe must have already been up here for an hour at least – because as far as Allegra knew, someone like Zoe didn't sweat easily.

'Ready for today?' Allegra asked up to Zoe, who narrowed her eyes and grinned again, but she didn't take her eyes off the pipe in front of her – and went up again. Allegra watched in amusement, watching Zoe go up and down the half-pipe like a pinball on a two-way slope.

'I reckon so – Psymon says I'm good to go, so I reckon I'll be okay on the free ride.' Zoe said, catching the pipe's edge and pulling herself up onto it, casting her fiery green eyes down at Allegra, who shook her head in disgust.

'Psymon's an idiot, Zoe.'

'I know.' Zoe grinned, sitting down and taking off her snowboard. Allegra rolled her eyes and set down her own snowboard, coming up to sit on the bottom of the pipe.

'Where're you going to start, anyway?' she asked, re-tying her shoelace, which at that moment had decided to unravel. 'Green Station, Blue Station?'

There were different stations throughout the mountain, all with their different levels of ability. Green started you off easy, blue got slightly harder – there were more crevasses and more chances of bringing down an avalanche, and red was the hardest. None of the competitors were allowed to go for the red until the officials on the other stations had cleared them, and then, only if their score and ability levels allowed.

Griff, for example, wasn't allowed to go on to Red Station, simply because it was too dangerous for a ten year old, despite his amazing ability that usually left everyone stunned. Allegra had been cleared health-wise; she just needed the points and her mind in the right level of thinking to get her to Red Station.

'I think I'll start at Green, just to make sure though,' Zoe said, somewhat thoughtfully. 'I don't wanna look like a doofus in front of everyone else just coz I'm not ready to tackle some of the harder slopes.'

Allegra snorted – it wasn't common for Zoe to put herself down like this.

'You'll be fine.' Allegra said, and Zoe snorted.

'Maybe not,' Zoe grunted as she slid off the top of the pipe and skidded down next to Allegra, her snowboarding boots carving tracks in the soft powder that was a snow stand-in for the indoor pipe. 'You wouldn't believe how many times I've come off this damn pipe.'

Allegra laughed and stood, picking up her snowboard. She felt good today – perhaps it wouldn't matter whether or not she practised on the barn's set-up pipe.

Hah – she thought to herself – she didn't need to practise. Practise was for people with no imagination.

And imagination was what Allegra had plenty of.

**MCOMM FROM: **Nate

**SUBJECT: **Ok, Birthday Girl – the sleeves are up…**  
MESSAGE: **

_Yes – the sleeves are up and the gloves are off. Let's hope you're ready for this because when you get out there today, you won't believe your eyes. No offence, and I don't want to scare you, but Peak Two Race is a LOT more competitive than Peak One._

_Still, not to be one without good sportsmanship, good luck. You'll need it._

Allegra cracked her knuckles as she stowed away her MCOMM. She was ready for just about anything Nate could throw at her…

…

The loudspeakers were blaring, and her MCOMM was alive with the radio crackling over the communications line. Events had started, and she was keeping up to date with the news as she coasted towards Blue Station.

As Allegra caught the chair lift up towards the more advanced station, she was able sit back and relax for a while. In all her events so far, her Platinum Race, Big Air and Half-Pipe, she's cut in a close second to Nate, and even scored a gold for the Slopestyle. She found the Slopestyle courses so much easier, as you had so many more choices, so many cuts and twists and turns you could take, and she always found the quickest, most efficient route. More than once while she'd been out on the Ruthless Ridge, she'd heard the curses of some of the others as they'd hit a fallen log or miss-timed a jump and had taken a face-plant. Sure of herself and more confident by each obstacle she cleared without going down, Allegra had soared through the course, leaving Nate, Elise and Moby far behind. It seemed like it was all about confidence; taking things in stride and not letting things get you down. Allegra did her best to stay steady, and finally, after some heart-stopping jumps and canyon leaps, she had cleared the course and was sailing through the flags.

Now, as she sat on the chair lift, she could see Nate far below her, tackling one of the harder jumps of the Intimidator. Grinning to herself as she watched him finish the jump in style, she gripped her snowboard tight as the lift reached the station and she stepped off, only to have had MCOMM buzz to life again seconds after.

**MCOMM FROM: **Nate

**SUBJECT: **I have a proposition… **  
MESSAGE: **

_You up for a challenge?  
Because here's mine: the Peak Two race, you and me, soon as you get to the top of the Peak. See you there, if you're game, cowgirl._

Something stuck in Allegra's throat as she read the last line. 'Cowgirl' had been a fond nickname that Jesse and Gareth used to have for her, back at the Arena, back home. Back with Tom, with Mom and Dad – and Allegra realized how much she missed them. Quickly making up her mind, she ducked into the station by the chair lift, and sent Nate a quick message back, saying she'd be there in a moment. Then, digging through her pockets for a few coins change, she paid for a half-hour access use on one of the satellite laptops, and hooked up to a live feed. She typed in the e-mail address, the medals of her wins and second places hanging heavily around her neck as she clicked the link; and then, she waited.

Two minutes later, she was rewarded with the ping of the monitor, saying that someone on the other end was answering her video request. A moment later, an all too familiar face came up on the web screen. Mom.

'Mom,' Allegra suddenly felt her heart in her throat – why did she feel like this? Her mom looked so tired, and so surprised to see her.

'Al – Allegra?' she stuttered, and Allegra suddenly felt herself grinning like an idiot.

'Hey, Mom,' she said, and her mother blinked several times.

'Is that – you're you, aren't you, Allegra?' her mother asked, and Allegra laughed.

'Could I be anyone else? Other than an awesome winner of these babies?' she asked jokingly, holding up the medals for her mom to see. Her mother gasped, disbelieving.

'Oh my God, Allegra! You're…you're really snowboarding?' she said softly, and Allegra nodded. 'And you're…you're winning again?'

'Again and again, Mom,' she nodded, and she saw something light up in her mothers eyes – was that…was that pride? Suddenly, her MCOMM beeped – an incoming message. She switched it off, knowing it was Nate telling her to hurry up.

'Are you safe up there?' her mother asked, and Allegra grinned and shrugged.

'Safe as I can be.'

'Which isn't all that safe.'

'So glad to know you missed me, Mom.'

Her mother smiled suddenly. Allegra felt something lift inside her chest – her mother hadn't smiled genuinely like that since Allegra's crash.

'Ride, baby.'

Allegra blinked – what had her mother just said?

'Wh-what?' she asked, shocked, and her mother smiled again.

'Ride baby – ride and win,' those were the words her mother had used back when Allegra had first discovered her passion for snowboarding – back when her mother had been so proud to have a daughter that could play rough sports. Allegra felt a grin creep across her face, mirrored by her mother.

'I'll win,' she said softly. 'Gotta ride.'

Her mother nodded, blew her a kiss, and closed the link. As Allegra left the station and hailed Atomica, who had been flying the Osprey around the area, she had only one thought in mind: _That went well._


	77. Chapter 77

**Part Six:** _Sign Says: MASSIVE TALENT HERE…_Chapter 77

For The Win

As it turned out, the Peak Two race against Nate was a breeze, considering her earlier wins. Allegra only lost to Nate by three seconds – she was close enough to reach out and punch him – when they'd crossed the finish line. Of course, she'd then proceeded to land on him, dump snow on his head, and make him beg for mercy by continuing to pound him over the head. They were heading back towards the station close by, Nate still trying to shake the snow from his jacket, when Allegra's MCOMM beeped again – not the first time today, but she held up her hand to Nate and stopped, pulling the device from her pocket and answering the call – it was Mac.

**MCOMM FROM: **Mac

**SUBJECT: **Help!**  
MESSAGE: **

_Al we need you quick up here – Kaori and me are in trouble. Any one else you can grab, tell them too. Tried psymon, zoe, moby and elise – no one's answering. Plz hurry – we're up in Red Station. Hurry!_

Something leaden fell in Allegra's stomach as she re read the message, Nate looking on with confusion.

'What's wrong?' he asked, and she showed him the message.

'They're in trouble.' She said, and he nodded, his grin disappearing and getting replaced by a grim expression.

'Res Station's all the way up the mountain, but,' he said, and Allegra shrugged, already stowing away her MCOMM and grabbing up her snowboard. Nate followed quickly as she began to sprint for the closest Osprey landing pad.

'Who cares?' she called. 'We're going!'


	78. Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Worst Timing

The Osprey dropped them off at the highest part of Peak Two, where clouds billowed around the top of the mountain and blustered the flag that claimed the territory. Allegra and Nate bent low on their snowboards as the Osprey raised away from them, snow flying everywhere. They looked around and Nate pointed towards a rocky outcrop.

'That way,' he yelled over the wind, and Allegra nodded, although she wasn't too thrilled about having to go head first in the jagged, treacherous black volcanic rocks. She was more of a snow-and-powder girl, but she'd take this challenge if it meant helping Mac and Kaori. She'd overheard them talking about going for some of the daily platinum events up towards Red Station after the main races – they had to be around here somewhere.

'Let's go!' she yelled back to him, and Nate strapped himself in, Allegra doing likewise. Then, they pushed off the vantage point and started to traverse towards the jagged outcrops. Allegra felt her board scrape against something harder than snow – slippery, too – and looked down briefly to see the thin layer of snow wiping away to show the shiny surface of the volcanic rocks beneath. She saw Nate was having similar problems handling his own board.

'Keep her steady,' Nate called to her, and she nodded and gave him a thumbs-up signal, and then veered away to miss the first of the rocks rising up out of the snow. Nate swerved around the other side, coming back to her and joining her on one side of the rocks, which were now rising away steeply on both sides of them. All the while, Allegra was keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of Kaori or Mac – she didn't see either of them. Crossing her fingers inside her gloves, Allegra hunkered down low on her board and held her balance, knowing that Nate was doing the same thing, and prayed.

…

About ten minutes later, they were coming out towards the bottom of Red Station, when Allegra finally saw it – a large, black Osprey rising up towards them. It wasn't one of the Peak managements – it had to be a trespasser.

'Hunters?' Nate had sent it too – the wind had died down a bit and the snow had stopped billowing, and they could talk without screaming anymore, but Allegra shrugged.

'Dunno – hey – is it…_hovering_?' she asked, seeing the strange way the chopper just sort of hung in the air – at first she thought it had been coming towards them, but now she could see different.

'I think so – ' Nate started, and then yelled. 'Hey – there's Mac! And Kaori!'

Allegra looked where he was pointing and saw the two of them standing in the snow – both seemed fine, but they were surrounded by riders clothed in black – their faces were masked, too.

'Holy crap,' Allegra muttered. 'Nate – it was a trap!'

Said too late – at that moment, something hard collided with the back of Allegra's head. She heard Kaori scream and Mac and Nate yell out, and she face planted into the snow.


	79. Chapter 79

**SURPRISE, kireichocho! haha - fooled you, didn't i? XD hear's 79 for you, sweetie!**

Chapter 79

Cliff Diving

The blow felt like the one that Laurent had given her when they had first met, and her first response was to shout abuse.

'LAURENT!' she screamed in frustration. 'I'M GONNA KILL YOU…'

'Allegra!' Nate cried, hauling her to her feet and pulling her over to Mac and Kaori. 'Allegra,' he said more softly. 'It's not Laurent.'

'Wha…' Allegra said, rubbing the back of her head with one hand. But she heard the voice before she saw the face.

'No, we're not Laurent,' a smooth, dark voice crooned. Allegra knew that voice. _Marisol. _'We're your worst nightmare, in the daytime.'

Allegra looked down at her hand as she took it away from her head – she wasn't bleeding, but there would be one hell of a bruise there. But right now, she couldn't concentrate on that.

She saw Marisol, along with two other snowboarder's dressed in black, from head to toe. The only way that Marisol was distinguished from the other two was her prominent chest and the telltale ponytail of blonde hair springing from her black cap.

Her face was cloaked in a balaclava, and she stood on an angle, one hand on her hip.

The Osprey that had been hovering around now came down close by, billowing snow everywhere.

'What the hell do you want?' Allegra snapped. She was sick and tired of Marisol turning up like a bad egg – how many times did she have to intervene with the Team's plans? 'I, at least, know how to take a hint when I'm not wanted.'

Marisol snorted.

'Oh, I wouldn't say that,' she said, her Canadian accent thick. 'Because obviously, none of you guys are wanted anymore. That's why we're here. To say bye-bye.'

Mac was standing protectively in front of Kaori, and Allegra was next to him – Nate with one hand on her arm. They didn't have any kind of weapon, and Allegra saw that the two riders that Marisol was with had rifles – that explained the starburst of pain when Allegra had been hit.

'What do you mean, "that's why we're here"?' Allegra asked, trying to weasel around Marisol, searching for a weak spot. 'Please tell me you've got a better motive than the fact you've got something against people who can outsmart you by only using their pinkie.' She held up her hand and waggled a gloved pinkie finger at Marisol, but Marisol said and did nothing. Allegra was surprised – that at least should have made Marisol angry.

The two riders with Marisol cast a glance at each other, as if ready to move in for the kill, but Marisol's stiff position told them to stay still.

'We're taking you three out of the picture,' Marisol said simply. 'Think how much easier life would be back at the SSX station. There wouldn't be anymore annoying little bitch jibbering in Japanese – ' Mac growled as she said it, 'There wouldn't be anymore having to look after the kid with M.S – ' this time, Mac looked like he was trying to keep it together as Marisol moved on, 'And there wouldn't be a braided bitch trying to outdo every one she saw as if she was the queen of the world.'

'What about Nate?' Kaori trembled, and Marisol pulled the balaclava off her head, and looked with something akin to admiration at Nate, who shuffled uncomfortably. He was a big guy, but he was weak spots – Allegra knew that.

'I think…' Marisol said thoughtfully. 'I think that I might keep him. He's very cute. Like a big teddy.'

Allegra snarled, bearing her teeth like Psymon would have. 'And think how much easier it would be if you just packed up your insane plan and _fucked off?_' she asked, putting as much venom into her words as possible.

Marisol shook off the insult as if it was a fly. 'We like a chase – ' she gestured to the slope behind her, as she and the other two had come around in front of Allegra, Mac, Nate, and Kaori so that they were backed up against the peak. 'Tell you what – we'll give you a head start. Go on.'

She stood to one side, and so did the other riders. Allegra gave Mac a quick glance, and he nodded in return. _If something goes wrong, I'll distract them._

'Ready, little piggie pig pigs?' one of the other riders crooned. Marisol had backed off, and was getting into the Osprey. 'We'll give you ten seconds.'

Mac took a firm hold of Kaori's hand, a determined look on his face. Kaori stepped nervously into the footholds of her snowboard, and so did Mac, who was watching every move that the black dressed riders made. Nate did the same, glancing nervously at Allegra.

Allegra casually hooked her own snowboard under her arm, remembering the trick that Josh had taught her before Dave had turned the three hunters in – he'd called it the quick escape.

The riders watched impassively as Nate, Mac and Kaori slowly scooted forwards, and then bolted passed them.

Allegra, however, whipped around and sprinted several yards away, towards the ledge. Then, everything seemed to slow down, like in a movie.

As she ran, Allegra could hear Marisol screaming orders, and then Kaori screaming her name as Kaori headed down the slope with Mac and Nate. Allegra gritted her teeth, came to the edge of the ridge, and then looked down. Looking back, she could see the Osprey taking off, and the rider's taking off after Mac and Kaori.

Then, she looked down into the misty, storm-clouded abyss again.

In reality, both options sucked.

Allegra took a deep breath, and simply allowed herself to drop off the ledge. She held herself rigid, as if she was a log, and held tight to her snowboard as she fell.

And for a second, it was entirely peaceful. The cold air caressed her bare arms, made her baggy cargos flap, her belt sashes fly, her hair flail.

Allegra smiled.


	80. STORIES ON HOLD: FOR THE NEAR FUTURE

**ON HOLD**:

**MY APOLOGIES TO EVERYONE. BUT I WILL NOT BE UPDATING ANY MORE STORIES FOR A WHILE. THIS IS NOT BECAUSE MY COMPUTER DECIDED TO CRASH (BECAUSE IT HASN'T).**

**THIS IS BECAUSE I DO NOT KNOW IF I CAN BRING MYSELF TO UPDATE ANY OF THESE STORIES AGAIN.**

**I HAVE LOST THE ONLY PERSON I TRULY LOVED; SHE HAS TURNED HER BACK ON ME AND I DO NOT KNOW WHY. BASICALLY, SHE SAID I COULD GET FUCKED AND HOPED I ENJOY IT.**

**I DON'T KNOW ABOUT HER, BUT THIS IS THE END OF MY STORY WRITING FOR NOW.**

**I'M SORRY. I HAVE ALMOST COMPLETED CHAPTER 19 OF MY AUTISTIC BROTHER, BUT IT WILL BE THE LAST CHAPTER I POST FOR SOME TIME OF ANY OF MY FANFICS.**

**I WISH YOU ALL A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.**

**- _mercy blessed_  
**


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